On November 8, 2023, Kentucky Harvest will launch its new mobile app powered by Food Rescue Hero. It is the sixteenth food rescue organization in North America to adopt the technology.
Kentucky Harvest was founded in 1987 as a solution to food going to waste, as well as local hunger in the community. Over the past 35 years, the organization has rescued over 86 million pounds of food across Kentuckiana – coordinating the pickup of leftover and surplus food from restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, companies, schools and food drives, and delivering it to homeless shelters, addiction recovery centers, children’s centers, churches, food pantries and other organizations serving community members in need of assistance.
“At this time in our history, where food prices are higher than ever and the need for food is greater than it was during the pandemic, we have found a way to rescue more food through app technology,” said Heather Suell Stewart, Executive Director of Kentucky Harvest.
“We are so excited about the launch of this new app to help us recruit more volunteers and put volunteerism at people’s fingertips. We believe that food belongs to people, not landfills and that excess food can be used to help Kentuckiana’s most vulnerable citizens. Anyone with a car and 45 minutes to an hour of free time can help!”
The Food Rescue Hero platform automates the time consuming, complicated and variable coordination of fresh retail food recovery so food rescue organizations’ teams can deliver more nutritious food to their community members who need it most. By partnering with Food Rescue Hero, Kentucky Harvest will be able to increase their food rescue efforts by as much as 40% in the first year, and even more in years to follow.
If you’re located in the Greater Louisville area, download the Kentucky Harvest app to start volunteering!
Interested in joining the Food Rescue Hero Network? Learn more here →
Interested in starting a food rescue in your area? Get our free guide!
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About Food Rescue Hero™: Purposefully designed to automate the time consuming and variable coordination of food recovery, Food Rescue Hero enables scalable impact on food waste, food insecurity and climate change. Since 80-90% of the food for pick up is fresh, timely delivery is essential. In the United States, as much as 40 percent of the food produced is wasted while one in ten people goes hungry.
Food waste is also one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2016, the Food Rescue Hero Network, made up of 16 partner organizations in the US and Canada, and a growing community of 48K volunteer drivers, has diverted 173 million pounds (the equivalent of 144 million meals) of perfectly good food from the landfill and mitigated 467 million pounds of CO2 emissions.
In 2022, Food Rescue Hero facilitated the rescue of 82 meals per minute, with one rescue being completed every four minutes. Food Rescue Hero facilitates partner growth and multi-county expansion, aiming to scale food recovery in 100 cities by 2030 and measurably support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12 and 13.
