Solution 2: Food Rescue Program
Why Solution 2?
With 40% of food being wasted, there is plenty of good and edible food in the U.S. to solve our food insecurity issues. The problem is that we have a lack of infrastructure in place to connect unwanted food with food-insecure populations. Food Rescue MAINE’s Food Rescue pilot is designed to help increase connections between food donors and recipients.
“More than two-thirds of all food discarded in people’s homes in three major U.S. cities was potentially edible, and up to 68 million additional meals annually could potentially be donated to people in need in those cities.”
– Natural Resources Defense Council(NRDC)
Each year 180 billion pounds of food is wasted in the US- this equates to around 130 billion meals and $408 billion dollars in food thrown away each year.
– Feeding America
Solution 2 Tools & Resources:
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Gleaning locations in Maine
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Volunteer as a food rescuer through a Food Rescue U.S. program
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Food Pantries in Maine locations
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Food Donation Toolkit
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Food Donation Toolkit Presentation
Click the images below to access these tools and resources:
WE NEED YOU!
Solution 2 Pilots:
Solution 2 Challenge Spotlight
Is it worth it to put in the time to use software like Food Rescue U.S.?
Yes it is! Using the Food Rescue U.S. software is so great because it is a standardized system. With Maine being so spread out, people all over the state are already rescuing food, but with all of the different systems in use, it is impossible to communicate between organizations.
When we first began using this program, we tried to recruit organizations from Lincoln County, Rockland, and Waterville. However, they already had different systems of communicating with donors, and it became difficult for this new software to catch on.
If we could get all of our powerful organizations throughout the state to use one system, we could stretch our reach and improve food rescue infrastructure.
Using a standardized system like Food Rescue U.S. means you can handle more donors and data points. To take things a step further, having all of this data stored in one place helps to prevent issues and confusion caused by turnover.
"Food Rescue MAINE offers a flexible schedule as a site director, that allowed myself to increase the bandwidth of the program only up to the degree I thought was feasible. Every time I pick up and deliver food, I feel a sense of pride knowing that this program is operational in this community because of the efforts that I put forth. It also is a great feeling knowing that every pound of food you rescue, is food that otherwise would have been sent to a landfill."- Ariana Walker, Mitchell Center Student Intern and Site Director
Are you interested in volunteering?
Please fill out this brief form to help us get to know you! Based on your preferences and schedule, we can work together to find the best place for you to volunteer. Thank you for helping us feed more Mainers.
