Summer is a time for relaxation, travel, and fun, but it can also be a challenging time for parents with kids home from school all day–and for regular food rescue volunteers who want to take vacations & trips away from Pittsburgh.
To continue to ensure our neighbors have consistent access to the vital services they rely on, we can band together as a community this summer and bridge the summer gap! Here’s how you can help out this summer by getting involved with food rescues:
Hands-on activity for kids on summer break
For parents, summer break can be a challenging time to keep kids engaged and productive. A great solution: get them involved with completing food rescues! There’s no age limit to being a #FoodRescueHero* – grab the whole family & make an impact on your community together ❤️
Bringing the kiddos along on a food rescue teaches them about empathy, community service, awareness of ongoing issues in their community such as food insecurity, and the importance of reducing food waste. Plus, it’s a convenient, hands-on activity that gets them out of the house and involved in something meaningful!
- Plan a Family Volunteering Day: Dedicate a day or two each week to volunteer together. It’s a great way to spend quality time as a family while making a difference. Pro tip: Build it into your existing weekly schedule! Finding a food rescue route that fits into the weekly post-swim practice (or other activity) drive, which reduces the time commitment required to get out there and rescue food.
- Educational Opportunities: Use the experience to teach kids about food security, nutrition, and the environmental impact of food waste.Learn more about food waste at home →
- Build Responsibility: Assign age-appropriate tasks for each child during the rescue, helping them learn responsibility and teamwork!
Read more about volunteering as a family →
*Note: minors under the age of 16 are required to be accompanied by an adult when completing a food rescue.
Weekly volunteers
Going on vacation? Request a Sub for your weekly rescue!
If you’re a regular volunteer and have summer travel plans, make sure to request a substitute to cover your shifts! Requesting a sub allows you to notify 412 Food Rescue that you’ll be unavailable to complete your weekly rescue on specific dates, so we can source a substitute volunteer for just those dates. Requesting a sub means you won’t lose out on your regular weekly rescue, but that the food still gets rescued in your absence!
You could also invite friends or family members to join you for a food rescue before you leave, and maybe convince them to step in while you’re away! Not only could this help cover the summer gap, but can also inspire them to become regular volunteers themselves.
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As we navigate through this vibrant season of vacations and outdoor fun, we face a natural shortage of volunteers for our food rescue and home delivery programs. To keep this important work going strong, we need your help to ensure our neighbors receive the food they depend on and prevent good food from going into the trash.
By checking our app, enabling notifications, signing up for a weekly rescue, or involving your friends and family in these efforts, you can make a huge difference. We want to continue doing impactful work throughout the year and avoid the summer slump. Your support is crucial to keeping our mission strong. Let’s band together and help our neighbors this summer.
Happy summer, and happy volunteering!
Support the work of 412 Food Rescue
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