“We know that there’s a lot more food that could be rescued and a lot of people who experience hunger every day”, explained Jackie DeCarlo, Executive Director of Manna Food Center to 75 people who attended the March 4th Food Council meeting to hear about the “Future of Food Recovery”. The focus of Community Food Rescue now is to implement the plans created in 2014 for building a system-wide approach. “We’re excited to increase participation in food recovery by leveraging the expertise and community-based resources.”
“We’ve enlisted several diverse collaborators who will recruit food businesses, hunger relief organizations, and volunteer food runners to participate in Community Food Rescue,” explained DeCarlo.
CFR’s collaborators include managers from Bethesda Central and Olney Farmer’s Markets who will help recruit farmers and other farmer’s markets to donate fresh produce.
Interfaith Works and Rainbow Community Development Center, two neighborhood hunger relief organizations will help recruit local businesses and identify local food pantries that can use recovered food.
Bethesda Green will recruit restaurants through their Green Restaurant Program.
Montgomery Countryside Alliance, based in the County’s Agricultural Reserve will help us recruit farmers who can both donate surplus produce and receive food scraps for animal feed and for composting on their land.
