Lakeshore Food Rescue launches use of nationally recognized Food Rescue Hero app

As part of its recent Lakeshore Food Rescue (LFR) program expansion, Community Action House (CAH) has launched the local use of a nationally recognized food rescue app. Designed to harness volunteer power and scale food recovery efforts, the Food Rescue Hero app has redirected 150 million pounds of food across the country since its launch in 2016.

The app connects food donors to nonprofits, with a focus on keeping food local and close to its source. Volunteers who download the app can sign up for flexible shifts, driving their own vehicles to recover food from donors and transporting it to local food access partners. By recruiting individual volunteers, LFR plans to expand across Ottawa County to rescue more food and increase healthy food access for the 10,000 individuals in the area who are food insecure.

LFR is also seeking new food donors and nonprofit partners to utilize the app. Restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, government agencies, and other businesses can donate food quickly and easily online, submitting information that prompts volunteers to select a pickup through the Food Rescue Hero app. Nonprofit organizations can sign up to receive food, and the program is looking for agencies that can receive and distribute prepared food to guests.

Keeping food out of landfills

Lakeshore Food Rescue is a community-powered initiative of CAH, in partnership with Ottawa Food, the county’s food policy council. LFR works with partners across sectors to collect and redistribute excess food that would have otherwise gone to a landfill. The pilot program has been underway for the past few years in Holland and Zeeland, and recent funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will help launch those efforts across the entire county. In 2022, LFR saved over 1.2 million pounds of food from landfills, a 72% increase from the amount rescued in 2021.

Surplus food is sorted and checked according to Food Safety standards to ensure that only fresh, unexpired items are shared with the community. In 2022, over 265,000 pounds of rescued food was shared with 30 external partner organizations. Rescued food also supplies ingredients to CAH’s Community Kitchen, and stocks the shelves at its Food Club, a membership-based grocery store model that offers access to healthy food and connection to other resources. Any food not fit for human consumption (typically 10% or less of recovered food) is composted through Eighth Day Farm or recycled for compost, animal feed, or energy use. Last year, LFR prevented 2,696 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and saved 110 million gallons of water.

“The Food Rescue Hero app will be a huge step forward for Lakeshore Food Rescue. By inviting individuals to volunteer with us, we can dramatically expand our service and offer fresh, healthy food to more partners across the county. Students can fill time in between classes, seniors can find meaningful structure for their retirement, and parents can show their kids the impact that individuals can make in our community,” says Krista Burgett, Lakeshore Food Rescue manager.

Those interested in volunteering, becoming a food donor, or signing up as a nonprofit partner can visit lakeshorefoodrescue.org.