412 Food Rescue facts for kids
 |
|
| Formation | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Leah Lizarondo, Gisele Barreto Fetterman |
| Founded at | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | 6140 Station Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206 |
|
Staff (2024)
|
36 |
412 Food Rescue is a special group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. They work to stop hunger by making sure good food doesn't get thrown away. Instead, volunteers pick up extra food from stores and restaurants and give it to people who need it. Since 2015, they've moved over three million pounds of food! They use a cool app called Food Rescue Hero to do this, and it's now being used across the US and in Canada.
Contents
How 412 Food Rescue Works
What makes 412 Food Rescue special is how they use volunteers to move food quickly. They don't store food in big warehouses. Instead, they connect places that have extra food, like grocery stores and restaurants, with groups that help people.
Volunteers get alerts on their Food Rescue Hero app about where to pick up food and where to drop it off. This means fresh, healthy food goes straight from where it's donated to people who need it.
The Story of 412 Food Rescue
How It Started
The group was started in March 2015 by Leah Lizarondo and Gisele Barreto Fetterman. Leah was inspired by a place called the Free Store, which Gisele helped run. The Free Store gave away extra clothes and other items to people for free.
When 412 Food Rescue began, many people in Pittsburgh didn't have enough food. At the same time, a lot of good food was being wasted and sent to landfills. Leah and Gisele wanted to solve both problems. At first, they used Facebook to find volunteers. Now, they use their own special app.
Making a Difference
412 Food Rescue has made a huge impact. They've almost completely stopped urgent requests for food help. Their success rate for picking up and delivering food is very high, around 98% to 99%.
For example, during a government shutdown in 2019, they helped federal workers who weren't getting paid. They set up places where these workers could get food.
Special Programs
Food Rescue Hero App
The Food Rescue Hero app is super important for 412 Food Rescue. It helps thousands of volunteers connect with food donations. The app came out in November 2016 and is available for both Android and Apple phones. Over 7,000 people have signed up to use it.
If you're a volunteer, the app sends you a message when a store or restaurant has food to donate. It tells you what kind of food it is, how much there is, and how far you need to drive. Volunteers use their own cars to pick up the food and take it to a group that will give it to people. The app is smart and matches the right food with the right people.
Hidden Harvest
The Hidden Harvest program helps collect fresh fruit from trees that haven't been picked. These trees are often in orchards or farms around the city. People can share on a map where to find fruits like apples, blackberries, and mulberries.
Most of the fruit collected is apples. These apples are given to partner groups. Some apples that can't be eaten are even turned into a special drink called pommeau with the help of a company called Wigle Whiskey.
UglyCSA
The UglyCSA program lets people buy fresh fruits and vegetables that look a little bit "ugly." These foods are perfectly good to eat, but they might not be shaped perfectly or look shiny. This program helps make sure these good foods don't go to waste just because of how they look.
Awards and Recognition
412 Food Rescue and its founders have received many awards for their hard work. Leah Lizarondo, who is the CEO and co-founder, has won several honors. These include being named a Pittsburgh Smart 50 honoree and getting an Impact award in 2018.
In 2017, 412 Food Rescue won second place and $110,000 at the UpPrize, which is a competition for new ideas that help society. They were also recognized as one of the top 50 technology innovators in their region by the Pittsburgh Technology Council.
