Reducing Food Waste

food rescue hero

Reducing Food Waste Locally Benefits All of Us

Here’s a statistic that might surprise you: Up to 40 percent of food that is produced in the U.S. is wasted. As we strive to achieve a balanced and sustainable food growing system, we also have to consider what happens to the food that isn’t consumed.

The idea of food waste is a relatively recent phenomenon as we have, as a society, shifted further and further away from the sources of our food. And you may not give it much thought on a daily basis, because food waste is primarily generated from grocery chains and large restaurants. Sadly, up to 40 percent of the food that is produced in the U.S. is wasted. When this food ends up in landfills, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas.

Meanwhile, one in seven people in the U.S. still go hungry each day, according to Leah Lizarondo, CEO and Founder of 412 Food Rescue. 412 Food Rescue, a food reclamation group, is working to keep good food out of landfills and redistribute it to those in need.

Lizarondo is also the CEO and Founder of Food Rescue Hero—a new app developed by the organization that is changing the way food is being saved, and hoping to expand into 100 cities nationwide by 2030, in accordance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals. It operates like a “DoorDash for good,” laughs Lizarondo.

 

Through the Food Rescue Hero app, volunteer drivers are alerted when surplus food is available nearby to be picked up and delivered to a household in need or nonprofit serving people experiencing food insecurity. “We always knew we would need it. In the early days we were really just hacking social media to coordinate these drivers, but after a while it became impossible.”

The app now mobilizes the nation’s largest fleet of on-demand volunteer drivers working to prevent food waste.

The app is currently being used in 14 U.S. cities where more than 80 million pounds of good food has been rescued. So far, they have redistributed 21,293,707 pounds of food in the Pittsburgh, PA, area alone, and mitigated 11.5 million pounds of CO2 emissions. Phoenix, AZ, and Madison, WI, are both on their target list.

Your city can be, too. “For cities that aren’t currently using our app technology, we are suggesting that people reach out to their local food rescue organizations and let them know that we exist—we have options available for food rescues of all sizes,” says Lizarondo. “We look for partners that are other food rescue non-profits or startups that want to do food rescue and we provide them with all the technology and training.”

This Food Waste article was featured in our Spring/Summer 2022 edition of Nest magazine. Follow along here and follow us on Instagram for more expert tips, tricks, and advice for home owners and investors at all levels.

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Posted in Asheville, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Greater Louisville, Greensboro, Greenville, Jackson, Lake Norman, Morganton, NEST Magazine, New River Valley, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, Roanoke, Shenandoah Valley, Spring/Summer 2022, Uncategorized, Wilmington
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