Rick is a local elementary school teacher who recently got involved with Food Finders after a friend recommended us as a way to help the community. Since Rick is off work for summer, it seemed like an opportune time to start.

Rick helps do food rescues about 3 to 4 times a week using the Food Finders app, which lets him know where the pick-up location is and where the delivery location is, along with a map that is linked to GPS so it’s easy to find the locations. If issues pop up, he knows our staff are available to troubleshoot, so the whole process is simple and streamlined.

Food pick-ups vary in type and size–sometimes it could be a small amount, like from a bakery or coffee shop and other times it might be multiple boxes of items from grocery stores. Rick shared, “The first time I picked up a bag of pastry items, I was thinking that it would be disappointing to the recipients to get ‘just’ one bag of food. But, the gratitude and thankfulness that they showed was humbling. I realized that I didn’t have to worry about my next meal and that I really haven’t gone ‘hungry’ in …. well, maybe never. On the other hand, a lot of people are hungry. And they are right in front of me.”

Since helping out with Food Finders, Rick has learned that personal awareness of individual’s food waste will make a big difference in the overall issue in our landfills, and that it really takes multiple sources, like food banks, community centers, and groups like Food Finders to get excess food to needy people in our communities.

He sees the value in volunteering, saying, “Even with a limited amount of free time, you can do something to help others. Sure, you can donate money to charities, but you also can give your time, which is even more rewarding. The pandemic is having a dire effect on basic needs, including food. Let’s all do what we can to make our society a more equitable and livable one, now more than ever.”

Thanks, Rick, for being one of many dedicated Food Heroes that have stepped up during this uncertain, challenging time to help out. We appreciate you and all of our volunteers who are making sure Food Finders can continue our much-needed program.

If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate

#foodfindersinc  #FoodRescue #reducehunger #foodrecovery #Volunteer #Charity #helpfoodinsecurecommunities #HelpEndHunger #EndHunger #fightinghunger #rescuingfood #Donate #makeanimpact