Rethink Food facts for kids
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| Founded | 2017 |
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| Type | non-profit organization |
| Focus | food insecurity, food excess, and economic development |
| Headquarters | New York City |
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Region
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United States; currently active in five cities, including Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, and Nashville |
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CEO and founder
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Matt Jozwiak |
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Key people
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Daniel Humm (co-founder) |
Rethink Food is a non-profit group based in New York City. It was started to help solve hunger in the United States. The group also works to create a fair and lasting food system for everyone.
Rethink collects extra food from places like restaurants and grocery stores. They use this food to make healthy meals for people who don't have enough to eat. These meals are often given out for free or at a very low cost. In March 2020, Rethink grew its work to help more people during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Contents
Who Leads Rethink Food?
Rethink Food was started by Matt Jozwiak. He is a chef who began his career washing dishes. He later trained in France and worked at famous restaurants. These include Michelin-starred places like Noma and Eleven Madison Park.
Matt Jozwiak is now the CEO of Rethink Food. He has been recognized for his work in food and helping others. In April 2020, chef Daniel Humm also joined Rethink as a head chef and a founding board member.
How Rethink Food Started
Rethink Food began in 2017. For its first few years, the group made up to 10,000 meals each week. They worked with the Food Bank For New York City to give these meals to people in need.
In 2019, Rethink Food was named a "Top-Rated Nonprofit." This award showed they were doing great work.
Helping During the Pandemic
In March 2020, Rethink Food changed its plans to help with the huge need caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Rethink started working across the whole country.
In April 2020, Rethink teamed up with Eleven Madison Park, a famous restaurant. They also worked with American Express. They turned the restaurant into a kitchen to make 3,000 meals a day. These meals went to people in New York and to healthcare workers. Free meals were given to clients of Citymeals-on-Wheels and hospital staff.
Rethink quickly grew its efforts. They started feeding up to 10,000 people every two days. This meant making about 35,000 meals each week. They also started a food truck program. This program delivered 5,000 free meals daily to hospital workers in New York City.
Supporting Restaurants and Communities
Rethink Food also launched a program to help restaurants. They gave grants of up to $40,000 to 30 New York restaurants. This helped restaurants pay their staff and rent. It also allowed them to make and give out meals to communities and essential workers. This program invested $10 million in restaurants and provided over two million meals.
Rethink also started the Chinatown/LES Food Initiative in April 2020. This program helped make and give out culturally appropriate meals in Chinatown. Many people there were greatly affected by COVID-19. Volunteers went door-to-door to deliver meals to older people.
In 2020, Rethink opened its first cafe called Rethink Café in Brooklyn. This cafe is a soup kitchen run by professional chefs. It offers healthy meals for a suggested donation.
In November 2021, Rethink began working in Miami. They gave money to two restaurants in Little Haiti. These restaurants made about 1,000 meals each week. They gave these meals to local groups like Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center.
Who Rethink Food Works With
Brookfield Properties and Union Square Hospitality Group
In July 2020, Rethink Food announced a big partnership. They teamed up with Brookfield Properties and Union Square Hospitality Group. They planned to make meals for families in New York City who didn't have enough food. This partnership also aimed to help restaurant workers get their jobs back.
Full Circle Brands
In November 2021, a company called Full Circle Brands launched a new brand called For Good. This brand sells eco-friendly household items. For Good works with Rethink Food. One percent of every purchase goes to Rethink Food to help create a fair food system.
Gorillas
Gorillas, a grocery delivery company, started working in New York City in 2021. They partnered with Rethink Food. Rethink collects extra food from Gorillas' warehouses. This food is then used to make healthy meals at the Rethink Commissary Kitchen. These meals are given out through local community groups.
Hu
Since 2020, Rethink Food has worked with Hu, a company that makes vegan chocolate and snacks. Hu helps Rethink by donating money when certain products are bought. They also give their chocolate products to Rethink to share with communities.
Kvarøy Arctic
In 2021, Kvarøy Arctic, a company that farms salmon, started working with Rethink Food. They are the first large seafood company to donate to Rethink. Kvarøy Arctic donates about 1,500-2,000 pounds of salmon every month. This salmon is used to make about 8,000 community meals each week.
Ghetto Gastro
In May 2020, Rethink Food partnered with Ghetto Gastro. This group is based in the Bronx. They worked together to give free meals to people in the Bronx. This included low-income families and older residents. The Bronx was hit very hard by the pandemic. They gave tens of thousands of meals to people there. They also gave meals to Black Lives Matter protesters in NYC parks.
Ghetto Gastro also made special shirts with an artist. These shirts helped raise money for Rethink Food. They also brought attention to unfairness and lack of food in the United States.
See also
