Pilot 2: AIO Rockland Food Pantry and Knox County Food Rescue

Goals 

1. To reduce the waste of good, edible food in Maine communities.
2. To Feed more Mainers in support of Ending Hunger in Maine by 2030.
3. To test a potential statewide Maine Food Rescue system (no wasted food) to locally connect all “available food” (Donors) with all “food needs” (Feeding Sites).

Strategy 

• To dramatically grow the feeding capacity of Maine’s existing pantry-based feeding network.
• To recover the ever-increasing amount of good, edible food sent to Maine landfills.
• To support food donors with an easy, safe, and proven money-saving and goodwill-generating food donation opportunity.
• To use simple technology infrastructure to support an effective, 24/7 Maine circular food system.

Methodology 

1. Identify a strong Maine Food Pantry with additional potential for community donation, feeding, and volunteer growth.
2. Organize Pantry’s existing donor, volunteer, and “feeding sites” (food drop-off locations, if any) data.
3. Set up meetings with Pantry, FRUS, and Mitchell Center representatives to evaluate FRUS system set-up requirements.
4. Identify Pantry’s FRUS Program Coordinator and begin software system training.
5. Upload demo “volunteers” list to test the system’s volunteer features.
6. Upload demo “donor” list with weekly pick-ups to test the system’s donor features.
7. Upload demo “feeding sites” list with weekly drop-offs to test the system’s feeding site features.
8. Upload the Pantry staff list to test the system’s Pantry “events” scheduling feature.
9. Test a few existing Pantry “food rescues” with strong donors/recurring pick-ups, experienced volunteers, and veteran feeding sites, to identify any potential problems.
10. Test FRUS reporting system to ensure accurate data: Food Waste Recovered (lbs.), Meals Provided/People Fed (#), Food $ Saved, and Donation Report.
11. Bring existing Pantry food donor, volunteer, and feeding site data into the FRUS system.
12. Recruit new food donors, food rescue volunteers, and feeding site data into the FRUS system.
13. Increase Pantry’s local donors/donations, volunteers, and feeding sites in order to rescue more food and feed more people.

Results 

• Increase the variety of food donors and donations (prepared foods, hot meals, last-minute food, event food).
• Improve and expand the food rescue volunteer system (recruiting, registration, organization, and communication).
• Grow Pantry feeding capacity beyond existing facility limitations (size, hours, storage)

Our AIO Rockland pilot is ongoing with another Maine pantry organization scheduled to join the pilot in 2024.