Food Rescue Hero App
Volunteer-powered, Food Rescue Hero App is an entirely new collection and distribution system
for smaller, more frequent donations using the White Pony Express Food Rescue App.
VOLUNTEER NOW!
Using the White Pony Express Food Rescue App, food donors can signal when they have excess food. An available ''food runner'' volunteer then picks up and delivers the food directly to a matching food recipient organization.
No long-term commitment needed. In as little as an hour you can make a difference by delivering surplus food to our neighbors in need.
Step 1: Download the app and sign up to be a Food Rescue Hero!
For a video tutorial with step-by-step instructions, click here.
Step 3: Complete the app-based Food Safety Training.
Step 4: Claim a ''food run'' via the app, and off you go!
How do I sign up
to volunteer?
Yes! Let us tell you more!
Please email WPE's Volunteer Coordinator here.
How does my organization sign up to receive food?
Yes! Let's get you started!
Email WPE's Strategic Partnerships Manager here.
What is Food Rescue Hero Initiative?
What's the expected impact?
Even before COVID, Contra Costa County had over 112,500 people living in poverty. We want to connect people who need food to excess food.
We know that grocers, caterers, restaurants, and farmers throw away tons of food that isn’t sold. In fact, California law has mandated recovering 20% of edible food that is currently thrown away (by 2022). The Food Rescue Hero Initiative provides a pioneering opportunity to help these food providers minimize their waste while supporting the community.
Once the Food Rescue Hero Initiative is fully operational, we estimate nearly 600,000 pounds of food per year—about 500,000 meals—could be provided to hungry neighbors and kept out of the waste stream. (These numbers will depend in part on the amount of funding we are able to secure to support the program.)
The Food Rescue Hero Initiative will help thousands of food-insecure people by providing us with a new food donation model. WPE currently receives food donations from over 100 organizations that provide large quantities—often pallets!—of rescued food, which we collect in refrigerated box trucks, repackage, and transport to organizations that feed hungry people.
Through the Food Rescue Hero Initiative, we are initiating an entirely new collection and distribution system for smaller, more frequent donations (Tier 2) that we have historically been unable to pick up due to our capacity limitations. Using the White Pony Express Food Rescue App (think Uber for food rescue), food donors can signal when they have excess food, and an available “food runner” volunteer will pick up and deliver it directly to a matching food recipient organization.
We've identified over 600 local, licensed businesses (Tier 2) that are Food Rescue Hero Initiative donation candidates.
Understanding
Tiers 1 & 2
The distinction between the two is not based on size, but rather by their supply of ''ingredients'' vs. prepared foods.
Here's more wonderfully helpful information from CalRecycle.
