Food Donation Connection facts for kids
 |
|
| LLC | |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Bill Reighard |
| Headquarters |
Knoxville, Tennessee
,
USA
|
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Bill Reighard, President |
| Services | Coordination of prepared, perishable food donations |
| Owner | Bill Reighard |
|
Number of employees
|
40 (2012) |
Food Donation Connection (FDC) is a company in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It helps restaurants and other food businesses donate their extra food. Instead of throwing away good food, FDC connects it with local groups that feed people in need. Their main goal is to make sure less food is wasted and more hungry people get meals.
The company was started in 1992 by Bill Reighard. He used to work in restaurants. FDC's main office and call center are in Knoxville, Tennessee. FDC helps food businesses set up special programs. These programs make it easy to donate extra prepared food instead of wasting it.
FDC helps connect donors like restaurants, college cafeterias, airports, and hospitals. They link these donors to groups that rescue food across the U.S., Canada, and some other countries.
In 2011, FDC helped donate a lot of food. They coordinated 35 million pounds of good, extra prepared food. This came from 248 food businesses, including almost 14,000 restaurants. This food went to over 7,900 local groups that help hungry people.
FDC also supports the groups that receive food. They figure out what these groups need. Then, they connect them with businesses that can donate extra food. This way, the groups can focus on helping people. They don't have to spend money buying or making food.
FDC gets its money from the businesses that donate food. These businesses can sometimes save money on taxes when they donate food properly. Donating food also helps businesses in other ways. It lets them help their local communities. It can make their employees feel good. It also helps reduce their carbon footprint, which is good for the environment.
The Harvest Support Network (HSN) was a non-profit group created by FDC. It helped food banks and other charities. HSN offered training, scheduling, and tracking tools. These tools helped charities match their needs with volunteers. This made it easier for them to do their important work. Now, FDC and others have taken over these support activities.
Working with Others
In 2009, FDC teamed up with the National Restaurant Association. They wanted to teach people about ways to avoid sending so much food to landfills. Their shared goal was to help hungry people and reduce food waste in America.
FDC also works to support laws that help food donation. For example, they support the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996. This law protects people and businesses who donate food in good faith. It means they won't get in trouble if something goes wrong. FDC also supports tax laws that encourage more food donations.
Who Donates Food?
As of 2012, FDC worked with 248 companies. These included many well-known restaurants and food service businesses, such as:
- ARAMARK
- Auntie Anne's
- Bob Evans Restaurants
- Brinker International
- Caribou Coffee
- Chipotle Mexican Grill
- Darden Restaurants (like Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Red Lobster)
- Famous Dave's
- HMSHost
- NPC International
- Papa John's Pizza
- Starbucks
- Yum! Brands (like Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell)
- Wawa
- Whole Foods
Who Receives Food?
As of 2012, FDC helped donate food to over 7,900 local groups. These groups help many different people. They include homeless shelters, homes for teens, after-school programs, and crisis shelters for women and children. They also include soup kitchens, emergency food pantries, and food rescue groups.
See also
- Donation
- Food Bank
- Soup kitchen
