Impact Report Innovation to Impact We believe good food belongs to people, not landfills. Here’s a great statistic: Our service level stands at 99%. We miss From the CEO only one percent of available food rescues. And our volunteers— “So glad somebody is finally doing our Food Rescue Heroes—have completed more than 18,000 of something about this! I hate seeing all this them in three years. This year alone, we will complete as many. food go to waste.” Or more. That’s one of the most common responses we hear when We have sparked unprecedented civic engagement—building the largest volunteer we talk about what 412 Food Rescue does. food transport network in the U.S. It is reliable. It is resilient. And grows more each day. No one likes to waste food. No restaurant staff, grocery employee, or any person in the food industry feels happy At 412 Food Rescue, we believe in people. Our technology is powered by everyone’s about being the one to have to throw away the unsold desire to do good. food at the end of the day. There is a visceral reaction to taking perfectly edible food and throwing it in the garbage because there is nothing right about it.
I say that unequivocally. Nothing.
We understand that it’s a challenge. The infrastructure to support redirecting surplus Leah Lizarondo from food retailers has not existed. Until now. Co-Founder, CEO
The goal of 412 Food Rescue has been to build that infrastructure. And as we scale in Pittsburgh, working with more than 400 food retail locations, we are reaching major milestones that break food rescue barriers. This year and beyond, we begin to share that infrastructure with other cities.
Technology is essential to making this happen. In November 2016, we launched the first version of our app, Food Rescue Hero, making it possible to coordinate thousands of volunteers. Since then, more than 4,000 people have downloaded, registered, and raised their hands to be part of our network of volunteer drivers—receiving push notifications of available food and rescuing food that’s near them.
“You mean everyone is a volunteer?”
We get this a lot too. Yes, volunteers. “How do you plan to make this sustainable?” Sometimes, we (lovingly) understand that this question means, “I’m uncomfortable with relying on people’s desire to do good.” But think about firefighters. We have more than 1.1 million firefighters in the U.S. – almost 70% of whom are volunteers. People step up. We just need to give everyone a chance to do so.
Our food rescue heroes
1 2 A statistic that is entering the public vernacular.
2011 Jonathan Bloom wrote “American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It),” catalyzing awareness for the food we waste. 2012 40% of food National Resources Defense Council released the landmark report “Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill.” It is the most downloaded report in NRDC history. goes to waste. Tristram Stuart gave a TEDSalon Talk in London, “The Global Food Waste Scandal.” It has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.
2018 Paul Hawken wrote the New York Times bestseller “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.” Of the 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, reducing food waste has the third largest impact on the environment.
3 4 Food that is People care about food waste. sent to landfill
Media coverage about Remains food waste grew unharvested 52.4 at farms 10.1 25% million* million* per yea r from 63 million* wasted 2011-2016 *tons annually in the U.S.
In a 2016 poll, 74% of adults reported that the 12.7% issue of wasted food was LESS THAN 1/3 important to them. of U.S. population of the food we are food insecure throw out would be enough to feed 16.6% 30.4% this population. households headed by with children single women We need to act.
In 2012, The European Parliament passed a resolution to halve food waste in THE U.S. WASTES RESOURCES the European Union by 2025. WHEN WE WASTE FOOD. The United Nations agreed on the need to halve per capita food waste in the consumer and retail sectors and reduce food loss along production and 2.6% 21% 18% supply chains by 2030 as part of the Global Sustainable Development Goals. of all greenhouse of all agricultural of all farming In 2015, Food Recovery Act was introduced to Congress, the first food waste gas emissions water usage fertilizer bill in the U.S. It was followed by the Food Date Labeling Act and the Food Waste Transparency Act. The same year the U.S. government declared a - $218,000,000,000 similar national 50% food waste reduction goal by 2030.
Sources: ReFed, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Source: NRDC 5 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) 6 We have a long way to go.
The EPA prioritizes the strategies for food recovery. The top levels of the hierarchy are the best ways to prevent and divert wasted food because they create the most benefits for the environment, society, and the economy.
REDUCE Avoid generating1 food waste FEED PEOPLE IN NEED Donate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters FEED LIVESTOCK Surplus food unsuitable for human consumption supplied as animal feed ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Food waste converted to produce bio-fertilizer and energy COMPOST Food waste converted to produce compost
LANDFILL Last resort to disposal 9 % of food waste still ends up in landfills.
7 8 We believe good 412 Food Rescue was founded to address the disconnect between food waste, food belongs food insecurity, and environmental sustainability. The fact that we waste 40% of our food is an extraordinary to people, not opportunity we cannot ignore. landfills.
Our Mission
412 Food Rescue’s mission is to prevent perfectly good food from entering the waste stream and redirect to nonprofits that serve those who are food insecure. We believe good food belongs to people, not landfills.
9 10 Food Waste by Industry
We relentlessly innovate to tackle 16% Farms the logistics challenge of retail 10M tons food recovery.
2% Manufacturing 8M 1M tons TONS 7M TONS
Consumer 40% Facing Business 5M 25 M tons TONS 4M TONS
43% Homes 27M tons 0.5M TONS full-service restaurants full-service supermarkets, grocery stores grocery supermarkets, centers and distribution & institutional food-service limited-service restaurants
Source: ReFed government 11 12 The problem of food waste in the retail sector.
Traditional logistics models do not work for food recovery at the retail level. Food surplus at the retail sector is difficult to recover for many reasons. Food retail is a highly distributed network. Food surplus at wholesale and retail can be unpredictable with relatively small quantities of food at each location.
Food at retail is approaching the end of its useful life – produce is ripe or approaching its expiration date. It needs to be used right away and will not survive the time lag of a truck-warehouse distribution model. 52% While smaller in quantity at each location – food surplus at retail, when aggregated, accounts for almost half of all food that is wasted. of food that goes Impacting food insecurity is about to waste is providing fresh food. produce – food that is difficult to access 15% 47% for those in poverty. of national food of what donations are fresh food 412 Food Rescue distributes is fresh food
Source: Fast Company, November 2017 13 14 “The Uber of Food Rescue” In November 2016, we launched our app “Food Rescue Hero.” 6 minutes
Median time between push notification to a rescue being accepted
5miles
Average distance between donor and nonprofit
We move people to move food.
Our technology enables us to access a network of more than 4,000 drivers – our Food Rescue Heroes – the largest volunteer food transport network in a We have a highly resilient and single urban region. This network grows everyday. reliable food transport network.
Food rescue changes the way we volunteer and participate in civic action. It is 412 Food Rescue’s Rescues completed quick, easy, timely, and of-the-moment. The rewards are immediate and direct service level to date — volunteers see their impact right away. Driving all over the region, volunteers visit and get to know communities, creating relationships that may not have happened otherwise. 99% 18,234
17 18 Food Rescue Heroes
Merecedes Williams Rebecca Maclean
412 Food Rescue is probably the It’s such a great way to be a small part coolest nonprofit that Pittsburgh of something that makes a big impact. could have ever come up with. Our regular runs are less than an hour a It’s just the perfect opportunity week. We spend more time than that in for families, community members, a week running off at the mouth in our anybody, to get involved and do local coffee shop. 412 Food Rescue told something as simple as going us recently we’d rescued over 2,000 to one location and picking up pounds of food in June of this year. A something...and giving it to an ton of food in a month saved from the agency who would completely landfill! How many people did we help benefit from it. to feed? All in time that is easy to set aside. It’s mind boggling.
Paul Jackson Melinda Angeles The biggest highlight is having The best experience I have fun while doing something for when I volunteer is when others, it brings me joy and I deliver the food and the laughter after shoving 500 people I deliver to hug me! loaves of bread in my car Meeting people that I floor to ceiling. And then wouldn’t normally meet, seeing the looks on the faces it’s so nice to be able to of the people I drop it off to make these connections when they see my car. with people I wouldn’t normally come across.
19 20 Luke Taiclet
When you take food to people, you learn a lot of stories about what’s going on in the area in terms John Seiffer of food insecurity. They start telling their stories. Many communities have populations who live in 412 Food Rescue is the missing link between those that have food but for some type of subsidized housing and they are 65 some reason that food is unsellable and the people who need food but years old and they only have support from a food don’t have enough food. standpoint that lasts them for maybe three weeks each month. Then they have a week where there is nothing. Other places you go to are food deserts and the dollar store is where they buy their food. When Dee Seiffer you start hearing those stories, it makes you want to do even more because you realize the impact your It’s such an easy thing to do, it would feel like a shame to not do it. And little carload of stuff has for individuals — and it it makes such a difference to people. I can’t think of another way that I makes you come back. could spend my time with so little effort to have so much impact.
21 22 Transport + Distribution “The Amazon of Food Rescue” Bridging the last mile: The new frontier in food access.
412 Food Rescue is focused on revolutionizing the LAST MILE of the logistics chain. We get food to people who need it most. To where they already are. Transport innovation is the first step. Then we must look at food distribution with an equally innovative lens.
To distribute surplus food, we partner with more than 450 nonprofits in the Greater Pittsburgh region. With food pantries and soup kitchens but also beyond traditional food-access networks. To bring food access closer to those who need it.
QUARTZ, SEPTEMBER 2017
Urban logistics have confounded experts and optimists for decades. Despite the technical revolution that is transforming logistics at distribution centers and shipping routes, it has barely touched last-mile delivery in the world’s metropolises.
PUBLIC SOURCE, MARCH 2018
Even with thousands of people working and volunteering toward eradicating hunger, organizations estimate charity still only reaches about four percent of local people in need, and many more improvements to existing systems and policies are needed to make a dent.
25 26 Poverty. Food deserts. Transit deserts. 412 Food Rescue bridges the
We discuss food deserts and food access. But we have not talked about the impact gap by bringing food to where of poor transit access and transit deserts on food access. people are.
412 Food Rescue believes that everyone has a right to healthy food and our model In the U.S. In Allegheny County of recovery and redistribution not only gives access to healthy food, it allows us to bring food to where people are—overcoming two other barriers to food access: transportation and time. Those who are 25% 14% in poverty have limited mobility and this impacts all aspects of their lives, including of those in poverty of households do not have getting to places where they can access food. do not have access to cars. access to cars.
We partner with housing authorities, subsidized daycare centers, senior centers, after-school programs, family and community centers — services that are already accessed everyday. In Pittsburgh only only 76.5% of renter households in Allegheny County 25% 33% do not have cars, of households of households consistent across without access to making $25,000 or all counties in vehicles are near less are near high Southwestern PA high frequency frequency transit transit with full with full day service day service
PITTSBURGH QUARTERLY, FALL 2016
Some food pantries report that more than half of their clients come less than three times a year—which leaves a huge gap because households that experience food insecurity, experience it for long periods of time.
Source: National Highway Transportation Survey, Federal Highway Administration, 27 U.S. Department of Transportation 28 412 FOOD RESCUE - FOOD RESOURCE LOCATIONS ±
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(! 441212 FFoodood R Rescueescue R Siteecipient FIGURE 6A (! FExistingood Ban Foodk Part nAccesser Site 3/16/2018
0 50 100 441212 FFoodR Ad dRescueitionally Additionally Reached Co Reachedmmunitie sCommunities Miles 1155 MMinute±inute4 1W Walk2 aFlOk OT TimeDim ReE tS otoC FU TraditionaloEo d- F BOaOnDk RP EaFoodSrtOneUrR AccessCE LOC NetworkATIONS 1 in = 5 miles AAlleghenyllegheny(! C41 County2o Fuoond tRye sBcu oeBoundary Ruencipdieantry FIGURE 6A (! Project Location: MMunicipalityunicipalitFyo oBd BoBoundaryaunkn Pdaratnrery 3/16/20108 2.5 5 412 FR Additionally Reached Communities Allegheny County, PA 15 Minute Walk Time to Food Bank Partner 1 in = 5 miles Miles Allegheny County Boundary 0 2.5 5 Service Layer Credits: Census Tract Proojevct eLorctaytio Ln: ayer and Food DeMsuenritc ipLaaliytye Bro:u hndtatprys://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/download-the-data/. Food Access Research Atlas, 29 Allegheny County, PA Miles 30 USDA, 2015. Transit Desert Layer: created using Census data from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/download_center.xhtml. United States Census Bureau, 2010 and transit data from Service Layer Credits: Census Tract Poverty Layer and Food Desert Layer: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/download-the-data/. Food Access Research Atlas, https://data.wprdc.org/organization/pUoSrDtA-,a 2u01t5h. Torarnistity D-eosefr-t aLalyler:g crheaetend uys-incg oCeunnsutsy d.a ta Pfroomr htt tpAs:/u/fatchtfiondreir.tcyen osufs .gAovl/lfaecegs/hnaev/njsfy/p aCgeso/duownntloya,d _2ce0nt1er6.xh.tml. United States Census Bureau, 2010 and transit data from https://data.wprdc.org/organization/port-authority-of-allegheny-county. Port Authority of Allegheny County, 2016. The Road to Impact
3,000,000+ POUNDS OF FOOD RESCUED
4,000+ IN THE FOOD RESCUE HERO TRANSPORT NETWORK
Solving hunger is more than measuring 400+ the weight of food. FOOD DONOR LOCATIONS
ANDREW FISHER, AUTHOR, “BIG HUNGER”
Pounds distributed and people served are not outcome 475+ measures but outputs. They do not assess impact. NONPROFIT DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS
31 32 We are enabling access to healthy food.
What We Rescue