Food Rescue

Americans throw away an enormous amount of food – an average of one pound of food each day for every man, woman and child in the country. That’s around 30% of our available food supply going directly into the trash.

At Second Helpings, we work to prevent waste across our operations. In fact, sustainability is one of our organizational principles. So, each year we rescue more than 3.7 million pounds of food. We take resources that nobody wanted and use them to fulfill the most fundamental need that people can’t live without – the need to be nourished with healthy food.

We work with our partners in the food service industry – wholesale distributors, grocers, caterers, restaurants, and others – to safely and efficiently collect surplus and perishable food that was headed for the landfill.

Five days each week, we send out refrigerated trucks and vans to rescue bread, produce, meat and much more from local donors. With extensive training in food safety and sanitation, Second Helpings drivers rescue food only that they deem to be safe and edible.

In fact, the Second Helpings food rescue team is so efficient that we rescue more than twice as much food as we need for the 1 million meals we send into the Central Indiana community each year. What happens to the rescued food that doesn’t make it into the Hunger Relief meals or a lesson plan for the Culinary Job Training students? We distribute more than 2.2 million pounds of bulk food to local pantries and partner agencies throughout the year. This further extends the reach of our Hunger Relief program, allowing Second Helpings to work with many partners who may not need a hot meal for the people they serve.

Would you like to donate food to Second Helpings? Contact Director of Food Rescue & Transportation, Jon Meinert at (317) 632-2664 ext. 122 or jon@secondhelpings.org.