Feed People, Not Dumpsters

Nearly 100 billion pounds of food available for human consumption is thrown away every year! To avoid wasting food and instead feed people in need, the San Diego Food Bank and other charities have implemented the Food Rescue Program that delivers prepared and soon-to-be expired food directly to nonprofits with feeding programs.

The San Diego Food Bank connects its nonprofit partners, including soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and churches with food donors, including restaurants, caterers, corporate cafeterias, and hotels. Through the program, the Food Bank connects food vendors who have excess perishable prepared food with its nonprofit partners who collect food from donors and distribute the food to individuals and families in need, often the same day it is received.

Donation Procedure:

• Registered food donors inform the Food bank of an upcoming event where excess food might be available.
• The Food Bank notifies its registered nonprofit partners about the potential donation. The 1st nonprofit to respond receives rights to the donation, and the nonprofit’s contact information is given to the food donor for further direct communication.
• The nonprofit will be “on-call” during the event and must provide transportation for collection.
• Donors must notify the nonprofit on the status of leftovers at the end of the event. if there are leftovers, the food donor will arrange a time for pick-up with the recipient nonprofit.
• The recipient nonprofit will arrange transportation for the food to be collected.