Karen (Alyssa) Plate

Marketing Manager

karen@412foodrescue.org

It's so great to meet you!

I joined the 412 Food Rescue team in 2021, and have enjoyed helping the organization through its transitional phase of the past three years–from a startup nonprofit rapidly adjusting and pivoting to community needs through the COVID-19 pandemic, to growing into a more established organization recognized in the Pittsburgh community.

Our team is forging relationships with food donors, nonprofit partners, funders, corporate volunteers, individuals, and community members all for the sake of expanding food access in our community–and it’s an honor to support their work and brag about the impact this collective effort is having on our city, it truly makes it easy logging into work every day.

Outside of Work

Beyond the office, I’m an ADHD introvert who loves web design, presentation design (give me ALL your decks) and event planning & management. I was born and raised right outside of Philadelphia, moved to Pittsburgh for undergrad and lived there for eight years, and then moved to Chicago, where I’ve been for the past two years. I’m a retired choir kid, math/science nerd, and on the weekends you’ll probably find me bartending at a brewery or soaking up the sun outside!

Hometown: Doylestown, PA
Location: Chicago, IL
Hobbies: Food, books, plants, bartending, puzzles, movies, seeing friends & family

412 Food Rescue

412 Food Rescue was founded as a direct response to the disconnect between food waste, hunger, and environmental sustainability. We waste up to 40% of our food globally (translating to over 1.3 billion tons annually), while 1 in 5 Pittsburgh residents go hungry every day.

We partner with food retailers, volunteer drivers, and nonprofit organizations to connect surplus food with individuals and families who are experiencing food insecurity. Our intuitive app guides thousands of volunteers who we call Food Rescue Heroes, to rescue perfectly good but unsellable food that would otherwise be wasted and redirect it to people who need it.

Food Rescue Hero

In 2016, the Food Rescue Hero™ platform was launched and piloted by 412 Food Rescue in Pittsburgh, and is now used by 17 food recovery organizations across the United States and Canada.

The technology platform is an end-to-end solution that supports a food recovery organization’s operations—from managing donations, mobilizing volunteer drivers, real-time rescue coordination to reporting impact–enabling them to make a scalable impact on food waste, food insecurity and food access, and climate change in their community.