How it Works
412 Food Rescue addresses the disconnect in distribution—in supply and access—by rescuing food about to go to waste and directly distributing to organizations that serve communities in need. We redirect unsellable yet fresh, healthy viable food to those who are food insecure.
Founded in 2015, 412 Food Rescue is one of the fastest-growing food recovery organizations in the United States.
Working with Partners
412 Food Rescue works with food retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, caterers, universities and other food providers to rescue unsellable but perfectly good food. Food providers often do not have the operations resources to consistently redirect food to community organizations and nonprofits do not have the resources to recover food that may benefit those they serve. 412 Food Rescue facilitates the solution by utilizing multiple modes of retrieving and delivering food—our own truck and our volunteers who use their cars and bikes to move food from our donors to our beneficiary organizations.
412 Food Rescue aggregates retail donors and nonprofit beneficiaries, utilizes technology to intelligently match surplus food to the appropriate organizations and mobilize our corps of #foodrescueheroes. We only rescue fresh, perishable food—healthy food—and directly distribute to organizations. We do not bank.
Our simple process minimizes the impact of food recovery on our donor partners’ operations, allowing them to maximize their impact on their communities and giving them the benefits of reduced waste management costs and lowering their carbon footprint.
Where We Work
We work with community organizations throughout Allegheny County—from soup kitchens, to school backpack programs, and other nonprofits that serve those who are food insecure.
412 Food Rescue is a community-wide effort to end hunger and reduce food waste. We are the only organization in the region that works solely on surplus food that may otherwise be wasted.
