In cities across the country, thousands of volunteers are rescuing fresh food that’s being diverted away from landfills to feed hungry people. And it’s all made possible through apps like Food Rescue Hero. The platform supports food recovery organizations, like us here at White Pony Express, to help coordinate donations from local retailers. It then mobilizes volunteers to redistribute the food to communities in need. Just last year, their network of partners recovered over 50 million pounds of food!
At White Pony Express, we’re excited to be taking part in the movement utilizing a version of the app, especially for us, which allows us to say YES to meeting even more needs in our community.
Since COVID, we have tripled our rood rescue and delivery services, providing an additional 6,000,000 pounds of fresh, healthy food on top of what we usually process.
Currently, about 40% of all food in our country goes to waste. If we could rescue all that food, it would be enough to feed everyone who’s hungry four times over! In California, a new law mandates that we now must recover 20% of edible food that is currently thrown away. Using this app, our Food Rescue Heroes here at WPE are helping us stop food waste by expanding our reach and collecting smaller, more frequent donations throughout our local communities in Contra Costa County.
Being a food runner doesn’t require much time, energy, or effort, either! This app allows you to help out when it’s convenient for you. If you have thirty minutes to an hour while in town or waiting for your kids to get out of school, why not become a hero? A role model for your kids? A leader in the community? A solution to hunger and food waste crisis we’re facing. It really is as simple as opening the app, claiming a rescue, getting in your car, and going.
“We always think of heroes as it has to be this big act. But I think the real heroic thing is doing something every single day as often as you can. No one sees it. You’re just doing it.”
As the founder of the incredible platform, Lea Lizirondo, says in an interview on the Today Show featuring our app, “[Food waste] is an absolutely solvable problem.”
But it’s only solvable if we all do our part. That’s why we believe it’s about all of us taking care of all of us.
As discussed in the interview, change starts with consciousness. When you go to the store, do you grab the item at the front of the shelf, or do you reach to the back to get the absolute freshest or best packaging? Guess what? That front row will do just fine! It’s those types of behaviors that will help combat food waste, to begin with.
Since we launched the White Pony Express Food Rescue Hero Initiative, we’ve amassed over 200 users, which grows daily.
If we all work together, we can end food waste in our communities. But volunteering is only part of the equation. We also need food donors. By utilizing the app, Tier 2 generators can easily signal when they have surplus ready for pick up and we can help them remain compliant per Senate Bill 1383, which went into effect on January 1, 2022. The bill requires food generators to donate surplus food to reduce waste and feed people in need. Starting January 1, 2024, inspections begin, and penalties may be issued for non-compliance. To learn more about how you can donate food via the Food Rescue Hero App, please visit https://www.whiteponyexpress.org/food-rescue-hero-initiative.
Regardless of whether you are donating or volunteering you can help the pony deliver in Contra Costa County and beyond by downloading the White Pony Express Food Rescue Hero App and getting started today!