We are so proud to support the work of the 16 food recovery organizations that make up the Food Rescue Hero Network. This monumental impact on food waste, food access, and the environment would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of their staff, volunteers, donors, nonprofit partners, community members, and other supporters.
Food Rescue Hero™ Network Impact:
182 million pounds
*since 2015
151M
meal equivalency
329M
CO2eq
49K
volunteers
9K
food donors
6K
nonprofit partners
16
Network partners
In the ever-evolving landscape of food recovery, Food Rescue Hero aims to remain flexible and responsive in how we provide technology solutions that make food recovery more efficient and reportable—ultimately maximizing the amount of food rescued and increasing impact across our communities.
Feedback received from our current Food Rescue Hero™ Network partners shaped the enhancements we’ve introduced over the past year. From customizing the rescue publishing schedule to introducing push notifications and innovative features like Nonprofit Maps, we’re always improving the logistics of managing food rescue operations.
Streamlining for Good: Maximizing Impact Through Tech Improvements
Nonprofit Partner Maps is a pivotal addition to our platform, improving equitability and efficiency of food recovery.
But we’re not stopping there. We’re currently developing a way to leverage this database, along with external data, to recommend suitable nonprofit partners for incoming food donations to help increase equity and justice when distributing donated food.
We’re excited to see how these improvements will affect the equitability of our impact and the distribution of rescued food across the communities that our partners serve.
Measuring the CO2 Offset of Food Rescue Just Became More Accurate
In 2023, we introduced a pioneering measure within the Food Rescue Hero platform that calculates the tangible environmental benefits of each individual food rescue based on its makeup of foods. Using ReFed’s impact calculator, our team integrated different factor levels for each food type directly into the native reporting in our platform.
By quantifying the CO2 emissions avoided through food rescue, we’re not just preventing waste; we’re offering industry best quantification of each food rescue organization’s contribution to the fight against climate change. Whether it’s diverting surplus produce, perishables, or packaged goods, each donation now comes with a measurable environmental benefit.
Education & Collaboration
2023 Food Rescue Conference
Two Days of Collaboration, Innovation, and Future Action
What started as a networking & educational event exclusive to organizations using the Food Rescue Hero™ technology has become a global event livestreamed for all food recovery stakeholders. Presented by Food Rescue Hero, the Food Rescue Conference took place October 11-13 in Pittsburgh, with over 250 people joining in-person or virtually.
Across virtual sessions, virtual lobby conversations, in-person breakout sessions, and interactions between attendees, a few themes emerged throughout the course of the event – the need for expanded food assistance to be diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just for all communities; leveraging unique partnership to procure and distribute food; and how collaboration is more important and impactful than competition within the food waste and nonprofit space.
Food Rescue Hero Webinars
Whether you’re an existing nonprofit running food recovery operations, or wanting to start up a food rescue in your community, we know the challenges you’re facing. Food Rescue Hero can make it easier, so you can make even greater impact on food insecurity in your community.
In 2023, we hosted free webinars discussing topics like:
- The Food Donation Improvement Act
- Volunteer Recruitment & Engagement
- Fundraising
- Food Safety
- Promoting Food Dignity
- Onboarding Food Donors
& more!
Join us in 2024 for more engaging content & discussions around the changing landscape of food rescue!
Join us in 2024!
We’re always looking for more food recovery supporters to join our work!
- Learn more about becoming part of the Network
- Donate to support more food rescues adopting this technology
- Register for upcoming webinars
- Follow us @FoodRescueHero on social media
