Food Rescue US
As hunger impacts our community, the folks at Food Rescue US are taking action! Food Rescue US is a national organization with 51 locations in 24 states & the District of Columbia, including one right here in Columbus, Ohio.
The premise is simple: some businesses have extra food they can’t use before it spoils. Food Rescue US has a network of volunteers to pick up the food and deliver it to social services agencies that provide it to those in need.
Become a Food Rescuer
There are 32,000 volunteer food rescuers nationwide. They use a web-based app to transfer fresh food surpluses from local businesses to social service agencies serving the food insecure. The app guides volunteers to available rescues by day, time, or location. Once people sign up, they get instructions on where to pick up the food and where to deliver it, along with any other details they need to complete the rescue. Become a Food Rescuer!
One central Ohio volunteer, Matthew King, has been doing it for 2 years. He does 10 food rescues a week and is motivated by his environmental passion and his drive to feed people in need. “I like a lot of things about it,” says Matthew, “one is that I adopted all of my rescues, meaning the restaurant employees see only me each week. I also like that the program keeps track of the pounds of food we save, and water, plus the carbon dioxide emissions we offset.”
of Matthew King
“This is super easy for newbies and older folk,” explains Matthew. “First of all, the person picks which organization to go to, they are not assigned one. When they’re just getting started, they could choose one rescue a week if they wanted, so they can ease into it. The app is very user-friendly; it even lists what size vehicle you need for the size of the donation. And if something comes up and you have to take off, no problem–there’s dozens of other people that can fill in for you.”
Another central Ohio volunteer is Rita Haider. “I started volunteering with Food Rescue in 2021 because food insecurity has troubled me for a long time, and I wanted to be part of the solution. When I learned that in Franklin County a million pounds of food goes to the landfill every day, that did it for me. I knew I had to get involved.”
of Simply Living
Avoiding Food Waste Offsets Emissions
Avoiding food waste remains one of the top solutions to global warming. Currently, food waste contributes 8 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Nationally, Food Rescue US has kept 246 million pounds from landfills, avoiding 1 billion tons of CO2 equivalent.
Columbus Food Rescue
The network is made up of individuals & nonprofit organizations who provide for food insecure individuals and families. All food donors, rescuers, & agency partners are members of the communities where they operate. Many locations operate under the Food Rescue US name and are led by Site Directors, like Susan Swinford & Emily Rials at Columbus Food Rescue (columbusfoodrescue@local-matters.org).
Columbus Food Rescue is a program of Local Matters that fights food waste and food inequity. Nearly one million pounds of food ends up in Franklin County’s landfill every single day. At the same time, over 11% of Franklin County residents, more than 147,000 people, are food insecure. By keeping good, fresh food out of the landfill and ensuring it goes to those in need, volunteers and partners work every day toward a more sustainable and accessible food system.
Donate Food
Any businesses that have excess food that could be saved from going to waste can connect with their local Site Location to discuss donating it. Food that can be donated includes fresh produce, dairy products, fresh or frozen meats, baked goods, pre-packaged foods, non-perishable dry goods, and prepared foods that have not been served.
Sign up to donate your excess food. Once signed up, you will be paired with a site and can begin donating. The local Site Director will match donated food to a local nonprofit agency in the community that can best utilize it. Then a volunteer rescuer will pick up and drop off the excess food. Save money with a tax deduction for your donation and by reducing your trash removal fees. And feel safe knowing that donations in good faith are protected from liability by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act.
Donate Money
Food Rescue US also accepts monetary donations. And since it is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, contributions are tax-deductible.
