#foodrescue — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #foodrescue, aggregated by home.social.
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Really great news!!!
A local bakery that specializes in gluten free bread, pastries, and cakes reached out to us...
...we didn't reach out to them. They contacted us!...
...about doing food rescue with them!
Not only are they looking at food rescue in general, but they're specifically looking at serving those that are hungry AND have food allergies and intolerances!
Everyone deserves healthy, tasty, good, and safe food (and also desserts!!!) - even those that have food constraints.
So we worked it out. Every day they take whatever they didn't sell and freeze it. We come by once a week and pick it up and run it to one of the fridges!
Look at this first haul!!!
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RE: https://infosec.exchange/@tinker/116472176913970907
Heads up for any FOSS contributors and coders!
Or anyone that knows how to code web apps and wants to contribute to solarpunk activities, bringing about post-scarcity food security, or just helping feed people:
Rootable is a Free and Open Source app that helps local towns coordinate food rescue.
Website: https://rootable.org
Code Base: https://codeberg.org/rootable/
Food rescue is where local community groups go to a grocery store, bakery, restaurant, etc., and "glean" or gather up any GOOD FOOD that would otherwise be thrown away and get to it people who are hungry.
Reduces food waste.
Increased food security.For more info on food waste, take a look at this John Oliver episode on Food Waste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8xwLWb0lLY
If you'd like to contribute code, fix bugs (usability, security, etc), assist in technical documentation or support, etc., please visit the git repo and pitch in.
If anyone needs contact info for the project lead, DM me.
This is an actively used app and helping with it directly helps feed people. This is a great way to build mutual aid projects.
#solarPunk #rootableApp #FOSS #foodWaste #foodRescue #foodSecurity #mutualAid #developers #solarPunkSunday #opensource #programming
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Updates on my town's Food Rescue initiatives.... Some bad.... and some good.
Bad News is we are no longer working with Food Rescue US. To be very clear, they are a wonderful organization and if you have an opportunity to work with them, by all means do so!
My groups model and their model just don't really align is all. Long and short, they were wanting us to get more food rescue routes quicker than we were able to and when we really couldnt meet their metrics, we both agreed that we should go our separate ways.
Quick Lessons learned here:
- Their model works really well when you have a dedicated and paid staff. It wasn't working well for a community group comprised of volunteers working in their (often minimal) spare time.
- If you do have a dedicated or even paid group, they are AWESOME!!! Great staff. Loads of in house support. Great app.
- If you don't have a dedicated staff and are a smaller community group, it might not be the best fit.Both parties knew this going into it and we had decided to give it a shot anyhow. It didn't work out. Alas.
Ok. So..... next part is the good news.
With that!!! We have now joined the Food Rescue Alliance (FRA)! They are a mutual-aid group of mutual-aid groups spearheaded by the Boulder (Colorado USA) Food Rescue group.
More info here: https://www.boulderfoodrescue.org/food-rescue-alliance/
They are much more aligned with how we work.
Now, instead of taking orders and meeting metrics from a non-profit corporate model, we operate independently and both rely on and contribute to the greater FRA group members.
This is awesome.
We have access to peer support, best practice information, troubleshooting and guidance, as well as their own food rescue app - Rootable.
Rootable is a Free and Open Source (FOSS) application.
Here is the app website: https://rootable.org
Here is the codebase: https://codeberg.org/rootable/
We're getting set up on it right now. We've been warmly welcomed and have already attended some meetings.
I think this will work out great.
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Chapter One: "Here's what happens when a community adopts [our] model: 1. People in need get nourishing food. 2. Perfectly good food is kept out of landfills. 3. Local stores save on dumpster fees and earn goodwill.
We've seen that when food rescue programs take root, crime rates can dip, street solicitation often declines, and community spirit rises."The week after Valentine's Day featured local artisanal chocolates, & a ton of cut flowers especially red rose bouquets. Since then, lots of artichokes ('tis their season) and avocados. One time, caviar (different brand than before). The usual fresh fruits & veg, often organic (apples, oranges, bananas, romaine lettuces, various greens). There's zero reason for anybody in this society to go hungry and malnourished.
#FoodRescue #hunger #volunteer #MarinCounty
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Solution-Hunger-America-All-Volunteer-ebook/dp/B0G4XJ86DP
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I recently learned that my local community food bank does collection of residential-grown produce in the late winter. If you've got overladen grapefruit trees in #Tucson there's a place that wants them!
https://www.communityfoodbank.org/event/super-citrus-saturdays-march-14/
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From Chapter 1: "Although Respecting Our Elders does wind up feeding very low-income folks, including some homeless, the main segment of our recipient base are . . . seniors who are seriously challenged to make their money stretch to just cover housing and medications . . . People are living in your area who for various reasons (out of work, outrageous medical expenses, or on disability), if they had access to this food for as long as they needed it, could make ends meet [&] start moving out of just surviving to being less stressed."
Food last week: organic & conventional: the avocado surfeit continued (bags of 'em), Romaine lettuces, Urban Remedy salads (maybe because of the cold weather?), the usual apples oranges bananas etc. & California caviar (white sturgeon) -- best before date had passed a couple days previously, but best before dates are conservative -- they were delicious!
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Solution-Hunger-America-All-Volunteer-ebook/dp/B0G4XJ86DP
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"Everything we pick up is delivered right away. We don't store anything, so no warehouse is needed. . . . This model can be duplicated anywhere there's a grocery store and a willing community."
Last week's highlights: lots of plant-based roasts (turkey analogues), mostly Gardein and Field Roast brands, also cases of some kind of stuffed butternut squash roast. Many organic & conventional avocados (a friend says, "Yeah, the Mexico tariffs mean avocados got really expensive so people aren't buying them").
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From the foreword: "Today, Respecting Our Elders is an all-volunteer nonprofit with no paid staff and an annual budget of just $25,000. Yet it distributes $4-5 million in food annually."
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Solution-Hunger-America-All-Volunteer-ebook/dp/B0G4XJ86DP?ref_=ast_author_mpbPartial list of what I've seen, last 2 (ie, Christmas and New Year's) weeks (remember, the volunteers pick up food from grocery stores etc EVERY DAY except Christmas Day and I think Thanksgiving Day), so I only see a fraction:
Avocados. Fresh organic herbs (tarragon, basil, mint, marjoram). Organic mandarin oranges. Guavas, starfruit, papayas. Precut fruit trays. Lots of sushi (a friend says, "Lots of people want hot food in winter, but sushi's cold"). Fancy mushrooms in gorgeous condition (oyster, lion's mane, maitake, shitaake). Diestel brand turkeys, both cooked and raw. Candy canes, trays of stuffing, tubs of ready-made gravy. Eggs (free range & organic), milk, yogurt, ice cream, nondairy frozen treats.
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1/2
Brand new book, The Best Solution to Hunger In America: How to Set Up and Run an All-Volunteer, Community Food Rescue Organization, written by the founders of local Marin County nonprofit Respecting Our Elders. One of my gigs is helping a disabled Indigenous woman get food from this org, which picks up from Safeway, Whole Foods, restaurants like McDonalds -- there's so much good fucking food that would otherwise go into landfill (creating methane, which is a way more potent greenhouse gas than CO2). I've had this gig for 2 years and I'm still amazed at how much delicious food (often organic, Fair Trade, vegan, etc) these places get rid of every fucking day.#Marin #MarinCounty #hunger #food #SNAP #volunteer #FoodRescue
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Here's our #LifecyclesProjectSociety numbers for our 2025 season:
Total #harvest: 64,691lbs
Total (A-Grade) donated to 75+ service agencies though the #FoodShare Network: 32,883lbs.
Total kept by pickers and harvest leads: 14,245lbs.
Total kept by stewards: 4,460lbs.
Total used by Lifecycles for fruit processing & pressing: 7,240lbs.
Total compost (none to the landfill!): 5863lbs.
#WorkLife #Teamwork #LifecyclesProjectSociety #FoodSecurity #FruitProcessing #Esquimalt #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #nonprofit #RescuedFruit #FoodRescue #FoodEquity #FeedingCommunity #FruitTreeProject #nonprofit
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Here's our #LifecyclesProjectSociety numbers for our 2025 season:
Total #harvest: 64,691lbs
Total (A-Grade) donated to 75+ service agencies though the #FoodShare Network: 32,883lbs.
Total kept by pickers and harvest leads: 14,245lbs.
Total kept by stewards: 4,460lbs.
Total used by Lifecycles for fruit processing & pressing: 7,240lbs.
Total compost (none to the landfill!): 5863lbs.
#WorkLife #Teamwork #LifecyclesProjectSociety #FoodSecurity #FruitProcessing #Esquimalt #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #nonprofit #RescuedFruit #FoodRescue #FoodEquity #FeedingCommunity #FruitTreeProject #nonprofit
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Here's our #LifecyclesProjectSociety numbers for our 2025 season:
Total #harvest: 64,691lbs
Total (A-Grade) donated to 75+ service agencies though the #FoodShare Network: 32,883lbs.
Total kept by pickers and harvest leads: 14,245lbs.
Total kept by stewards: 4,460lbs.
Total used by Lifecycles for fruit processing & pressing: 7,240lbs.
Total compost (none to the landfill!): 5863lbs.
#WorkLife #Teamwork #LifecyclesProjectSociety #FoodSecurity #FruitProcessing #Esquimalt #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #nonprofit #RescuedFruit #FoodRescue #FoodEquity #FeedingCommunity #FruitTreeProject #nonprofit
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Here's our #LifecyclesProjectSociety numbers for our 2025 season:
Total #harvest: 64,691lbs
Total (A-Grade) donated to 75+ service agencies though the #FoodShare Network: 32,883lbs.
Total kept by pickers and harvest leads: 14,245lbs.
Total kept by stewards: 4,460lbs.
Total used by Lifecycles for fruit processing & pressing: 7,240lbs.
Total compost (none to the landfill!): 5863lbs.
#WorkLife #Teamwork #LifecyclesProjectSociety #FoodSecurity #FruitProcessing #Esquimalt #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #nonprofit #RescuedFruit #FoodRescue #FoodEquity #FeedingCommunity #FruitTreeProject #nonprofit
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Here's our #LifecyclesProjectSociety numbers for our 2025 season:
Total #harvest: 64,691lbs
Total (A-Grade) donated to 75+ service agencies though the #FoodShare Network: 32,883lbs.
Total kept by pickers and harvest leads: 14,245lbs.
Total kept by stewards: 4,460lbs.
Total used by Lifecycles for fruit processing & pressing: 7,240lbs.
Total compost (none to the landfill!): 5863lbs.
#WorkLife #Teamwork #LifecyclesProjectSociety #FoodSecurity #FruitProcessing #Esquimalt #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #nonprofit #RescuedFruit #FoodRescue #FoodEquity #FeedingCommunity #FruitTreeProject #nonprofit
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First day back on my weekly #foodrescue run after a growing season hiatus. Small load from Sprouts but I was sincerely happy to see the people at the housing center to which I deliver. At the same time, I felt the groundhog day feeling that I was stepping back into the timeless loop of poverty, hunger, and charity.
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Oh wow.
Umm... the town's commission for sustainable initiatives has asked me to speak with their group regarding Free Fridges and Food Rescue...
This commission "advocates for a clean, healthy, and biodiverse urban environment, promotes a culture of sustainability in the city, advises City Council, and works with the City and community on projects, outreach, education, and innovation.
Well that's cool.
Guess I'll go do that, then.
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"Kairos opened seven years ago and started with a free store where it fed 40 people a night with 300 scones. Now, the organisation rescues more than three tonnes of food from supermarkets, cafes and other suppliers every day, supporting 62 foodbanks and community groups."
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Today's food rescue delivered to the free fridge.
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Remote Full Stack Developer & Data Specialist position to work on a #foodrescue app.
I've got no connection to the job posting, it's not my tech stack. I only wanted to pass it along.
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The article for my town's Free Fridge, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening group just came out!
You can read the article here: https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/article_49e5b911-4f2a-41a1-b735-a0ddc09e3937.html
(Non-paywalled archive: https://archive.is/AjYvg )Goes into detail on our efforts to build out Free Fridges throughout town, conduct Food Rescue, and to help folks garden their food indoors. Even interviews the local food bank and discusses our cooperative partnerships with them as well!
#solarPunk #foodRescue #indoorGardening #hydroponics #foodSecurity #foodBank #freeFridge #mutualAid
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On the Post-Scarcity Food front. My local group, which covers Free Fridges, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening - we just got interviewed my our town's local newspaper.
Which is cool.
We're starting to get noticed and more and more folks are joining the group organically.
The group currently has around 65 members in the discord chat. 80ish members (much overlap) on the email newsgroup. We have around 10 folks that have signed up for the food rescue app. And we get 5 to 15 folks in person and via zoom for the monthly meetings. We have a core very active group of around 6 folks with lots of folks hanging in the wing to help as needed.
And we have intentionally NOT recruited or let folks know about us (beyond a couple local events), as we wanted to get some things in place first.
I wanted to make sure that volunteers weren't met with a ghost town, right. I wanted to get the infrastructure in place first.
Well it's in place.
And we have some initial food rescues. And some more coming down the pipe. And some irons in the fire for new free fridge placements.
And the library and food bank is asking us to put together coursework and programming around growing your own food indoors.
So. For as much as I'm fucking nervous, lol. It's time to really start growing.... fuuuuck.
Ha! Funny thing. I was arguing caution and hoping for another month or two before really branching out and a fellow coordinator pushed back and said, fuck that, let's go now!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!! I'm being scared and I've been called out, HAHAHA!!! Which is good. I needed a swift kick in the ass. (honestly, if I hung back too much, this other person would have just gone ahead and done it. I am NOT the only decision maker here, even if I was the one to get it started)..
Alright. Fine. Let's do it, HAHAHAHA!!!!!
Oooooh.... this is happening. Shiiiit!!!
Failure is scary. But success is downright terrifying.
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The meeting with the local food bank with really really well!!!
They have solid relationships with a bunch of grocery stores already and they already do "big haul" food rescues as it is. That's good. That means I dont have to waste time going out and "cold calling" those folks.
But here's the thing... they are really struggling with the "small haul" food rescues.
While they have trucks and even paid drivers who can pick up large food rescues, they don't have the bandwidth to send someone to a small grocery store (think your dollar stores or small convenience stores and gas stations). Those places dont always have food rescue and if they do, its small enough to only fit in the back of an SUV or similar.
Buuuuut... that's what my group is really good at!!! We *focus* on rescues that a single person can do with their car, truck, or even their bicycle / trailer!
In fact, the food bank has FOURTEEN!!! stores lined up already that just need people to pick up the food! They have the relationship already set up. They have the places to receive the food rescue and distribute it out already set up. They just need people to pick up from point A and drop off at point B.
Well dang. Let's do it!
I've set up a next meeting with the food bank's food rescue coordinator. We'll sit down and hash out requirements. My plan is to then get one or two "test routes" put out to see if we can handle those. Once we do, we'll scale up.
I'M SO EXCITED!!!
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Got a meeting with the local food bank here shortly.
One other person and myself from the food rescue group are meeting with the food bank to sort out where they're currently doing food rescue from. A couple reasons behind this:
1) We dont want to duplicate efforts. If they're already rescuing food, then we can move on to the next place.
2) If they are rescuing food but not all of it (say they're only grabbing canned food but not bread from a bakery) we can close the gap.
3) If they've got an agreement in place but need help with logistics (pick up and drop off), we can assist there.Should be a good meeting. Lots of folks in town trying to feed each other.
#foodRescue #foodBank #foodSecurity #postScarcity #solarPunk
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Alfred Robert Tucker was an Anglican bishop in Africa. In his bio, he says missionaries of the Christian Missionary Society appealed to the British government to abolish slavery within the areas of Africa which were under its control.
I keep hearing liberals complain that the purpose of missionaries, per se, was to scope out people to be enslaved. Like a herald for Galactus.
How can you use your advocacy for good?
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Results of that food rescue route I mentioned! A lot of produce. Neighbors came and grabbed a lot of the veggies when it came in. I put the rest into the fridge for others to grab later.
This was one vendor on one night.
We throw away so much good food.
I'm going to go find more food.
#solarPunk #mutualAid #foodRescue #foodWaste #freeFridge #postScarcity
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Momentous Update on the Food Rescue Program!!!
We got our first food rescue!!!! Like official. In the app! Not an adhoc one. And it wasnt me who set this up! Another organizer got our first grocer. I put the route into the app and opened it up for volunteers.
And a community member picked it up!!!!!
We are rescuing food from a grocer and delivering to a free fridge!
Calling it: November 14th of last year (2024) - to now (June 10th 2025). 7 months from idea conception to a formal route / food rescue between a food seller and a food distributor. (With founding a mutual aid group, to growing it, to partnering with a national food rescue org - yay Food Rescue US! - to meeting with a grocer and connecting them to a free fridge all in between)
Now it's time to scale....
#solarPunk #mutualAid #foodSecurity #postScarcity #foodRescue #foodRescueUS #freeFridge
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Our town's Free Fridge and Food Rescue group is on the fediverse!!!
One of our group members runs all of our social media accounts and they just set this up!
You can follow the account directly here:
- @fxbgfridgefr -
Food Rescue Program Update
HOLY FUCKING SHIT I AM FUCKING SCARED OF TOMORROW!!!! (hint: it's good news)
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Blarrrrgh!!!!!!!!
Fuck.
Okay, it's good news, really, but shit am I a catatonic mess of nausea and nerves and I don't fucking know what to do.
Tomorrow is our weekly Farmer's Market. This is really important in our town and it's one key to building greater community. This isn't an idyllic saccharine frolic as the Farmer's Market trope is often presented.
So. Two folks who have joined my Fridge and Food Rescue group have INITIATED, ORGANIZED, AND LEAD!!!! setting up at our Farmer's Market. Two or three other folks will be joining these two leaders.
I didn't do this. I started the main group, sure, but they're going off on their own without me. That's a good thing. Amazing thing actually. I should never be a bottleneck or the main person. This has to be everyone.
But they've asked me to come and see if any of the other farmers and vendors at the market want to enroll in our food rescue program while they handle other things.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Y'all. I'm good at talking to a group of people that want to work together. I'm good at solving programs. I'm damned good at setting up groups, and infrastructure, and programs.
But I am DEATHLY AFRAID of talking to people that could possibly say no. Hahahaha.
I didn't use to be like this, but I experienced a really fucking traumatic event about three years ago that involved me begging and pleading and making and giving arguments that absolutely were logical and reasoned and supported with a massive amount of evidence. I spent tens of thousands of dollars that I didn't (and still dont) have. I went into crazy debt that I might still not get out from.... all to be brushed aside and denied at every front.
I say that... because its made it to where I can't approach anyone now if there will be any push back. I can fight people, right. I can stand up to someone doing bad in the moment. But I can't try to REASON with them.
And that's bleeding into other aspects of my life. I can't go to city council meetings to plead for them not to set up an AI data center in my town, for example.
And, interestingly, it makes it incredibly difficult to "cold call" or approach folks to sign them up for food rescue.
Fuck me....
I'm going to try this tomorrow. And I have my friends and comrades there who WILL help me.
But, ya'll... I'm fucking scared.
Hahaha. Shit.
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Today's food rescue: a bunch of submarine sandwiches from a local cafe!
Stuck em in the free fridge.
#solarPunk #mutualAid #foodRescue #foodSecurity #postScarcity #freeFridge
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Massive Update on the Food Rescue front!!!
We worked out the contract issues with Food Rescue US (FRUS - https://foodrescue.us)and we just signed the contract!
We can now begin the rescue efforts in earnest!!!
This is MASSIVE!!!
This initiative started last November,, and while it's had a couple of obstacles, five months from conception to group formation to joining with a national org isn't that long.
We're also going to be joining Food Rescue Alliance (FRA - https://www.boulderfoodrescue.org/food-rescue-alliance/). They're a US based national "mutual aid of mutual aids" sort of thing. So we can join other food rescue groups and learn from each other.
I'd like to see if there's a state group to join as well. If not, I'd like to start one up. A lot of laws and regulations are state based and learning from other groups in our state would be amazing.
Soooo!!!!
Expect some more updates in the coming weeks.
I'm so excited!!!!
#solarPunk #mutualAid #foodRescue #postScarcity #foodSecurity
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So many grapes in today's produce rescue. I have juiced a bunch. Some of the leftover pulp went into a fruit salad. Other pulp I'll use in a fruit leather experiment. Also have a couple trays in the oven in a raisin experiment. It's a chance to try some ideas from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.
I was going to use a bottle of red wine to dye eggs tomorrow, but now I'm thinking of just trying grape juice with vinegar.
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So many grapes in today's produce rescue. I have juiced a bunch. Some of the leftover pulp went into a fruit salad. Other pulp I'll use in a fruit leather experiment. Also have a couple trays in the oven in a raisin experiment. It's a chance to try some ideas from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.
I was going to use a bottle of red wine to dye eggs tomorrow, but now I'm thinking of just trying grape juice with vinegar.
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So many grapes in today's produce rescue. I have juiced a bunch. Some of the leftover pulp went into a fruit salad. Other pulp I'll use in a fruit leather experiment. Also have a couple trays in the oven in a raisin experiment. It's a chance to try some ideas from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.
I was going to use a bottle of red wine to dye eggs tomorrow, but now I'm thinking of just trying grape juice with vinegar.
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So many grapes in today's produce rescue. I have juiced a bunch. Some of the leftover pulp went into a fruit salad. Other pulp I'll use in a fruit leather experiment. Also have a couple trays in the oven in a raisin experiment. It's a chance to try some ideas from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.
I was going to use a bottle of red wine to dye eggs tomorrow, but now I'm thinking of just trying grape juice with vinegar.
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So many grapes in today's produce rescue. I have juiced a bunch. Some of the leftover pulp went into a fruit salad. Other pulp I'll use in a fruit leather experiment. Also have a couple trays in the oven in a raisin experiment. It's a chance to try some ideas from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.
I was going to use a bottle of red wine to dye eggs tomorrow, but now I'm thinking of just trying grape juice with vinegar.
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I'm starting up a Food Rescue program in my town.
The idea is that restaurants and stores throw away good food every night. Food rescue (also known as "gleaning") is where a person (Food Rescue Hero or Gleaner) goes to stores/restaurants and takes the good food that would otherwise be thrown out and provides it to hungry folks (either distributed centrally through a food pantry, decentrally through a free fridge / community pantry, or peer-to-peer directly to a person or family).
I'm currently researching tracking and coordination apps (such as foodrescue.us and others) but in the process of doing this I found myself at a local donut shop asking if they had 5-gallon food safe buckets that they could give away for hydroponics (i had received a tip!). They said they did and we started talking about food rescue. They said they had tried to donate their unsold donuts to a couple of pantries but no one could ever pick them up. I told them I would.
...and look what they provided!!!
My first food rescue, y'all!!!
3 dozen donuts!
I ran them straight to the free fridge! They can do this every night!!!
So cheers to Freddy Donuts in Fredericksburg, Virginia!
#foodRescue #freeFridge #communityPantry #foodSecurity #mutualAid #solarPunk
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Scored a bunch of tomatoes, carrots, and celery for cheap at a food rescue pickup this morning. I've got a bunch of sofrito going on the stove now and soon the tomatoes will become sauce as well.
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Robert Murray M'Cheyne, Church of Scotland minister, writes on the Parable of the Talents from Luke 19. We are only stewards of that which we possess. It is a mistake to hoard and lay up for ourselves and our children.
Today, is the need to hoard for children often used an excuse for not doing for anyone besides weekly offering?
How can you occupy until He comes?
#christian #worthdyingfor #whoismyneighbor #antifa #foodrescue
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Ok. Now that the seed library is built, I'm moving on to the next project.
Food Rescue.
Currently, I volunteer at my local community refrigerator and pantry....
....and by that I mean a literal refrigerator and pantry that sits outside.
Anyone can come up to it and put food in. And anyone can come up to it and take food out. No means testing. Mutual aid. Give a food, take a food.
Right now, it's being stocked with individual donations (people buying extra food while doing their own grocery runs or putting in extra food that they thought they were going to use but ended up not using all of it), overflow from food pantry distributions, and home garden and hydroponics for fresh produce.
That's great and I want to expand that, especially the home garden and hydroponics for fresh produce (see the Seed Library and hydroponics bin build pinned posts for efforts in that area).
All of that said, my local town is not doing a lot of food rescue.
We have grocery stores, convenience stores, and restaurants throwing away good food at the end of the day.
I want to get that food away from the dumpsters and into the community fridge / pantry.
So that's my next project. And I'll document it here. (I swear at some point, I'll put all of this together up on hacker(dot)solar - I just really suck at that. I don't know why.)
I'm currently looking at foodrescue(dot)us 's web app for food rescue coordination. It costs money, but I'm not sure how much. I'll find out and let y'all know.
I'll start with grocery stores. Then convenience stores. Then finally hot food from restaurants.
Cool thing. A lot of people worry about liability issues. That's not a thing anymore!!!
In the US, we have the Bill Emerson Food Donation Act that removes liability from donators, gleaners (food rescuers), and distributors:
"The Bill Emerson Food Donation Act establishes Federal protection from civil and criminal liability for persons involved in the donation and distribution of food and grocery products to needy individuals when certain criteria are met. In order to receive protection under the Act, a person or gleaner must donate in good faith apparently wholesome food or apparently fit grocery products to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to needy individuals. The Act also provides protection against civil and criminal liability to the nonprofit organizations that receive such donated items in good faith. "
See FAQ here (PDF): https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-good-samaritan-faqs.pdf
Ideally, I'll be able to keep our fridge stocked with this and even start building out other fridges/pantries throughout town.
Heck, Richmond Virginia has FOURTEEN free fridges!!! We're not as big a town as they are, but we can do better than one!
#solarPunk #mutualAid #foodRescue #freeFridge #communityPantry
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Just finished a great game of Co-opoly with friends from Colorado Springs Food Rescue. We adopted a "cost of living plus 10" policy for salaries so that each person could meet their needs and be paid the same amount above that.
#coopoly #playlearning #foodrescue