You’re in Exactly the Right Place to End Hunger
Since 2011, food rescuers at Community Plates have delivered over 26 million fresh and healthy meals to people who don’t have enough to eat. Now it’s time for something even bigger. We’re proud to launch a new app that will make on-demand food rescue simple and seamless wherever you are. And as we lead the food rescue movement from coast to coast, we’re excited to introduce you to our new name – one that shows who we are and where we’re heading. Community Plates is now Food Rescue US.
Introducing Food Rescue US
At a time when food rescue is gaining wide national and international attention as the best solution for ending food insecurity, the name Food Rescue US clearly conveys the focus and scope of our powerful organization. We are poised and ready to accelerate the broad expansion of our very successful and extremely efficient food rescue platform in our mission to end food insecurity in the United States.
The US in our new name is not only significant for the United States it is also for “us,” the local volunteers who make our food rescue mission work. These volunteers are the critical connection, transferring the rescued healthy and nutritious food from our donors to the receiving agencies that serve our food insecure neighbors. They are the core of our movement and we wanted our new name to recognize the “us” factor of Food Rescue US as our movement spreads across the country community by community.
About the Change
This name change denotes the significance of the extensive changes we have undertaken as we have grown dramatically (over 450%) over the last five years. As Food Rescue US, we are ready to take on a true leadership role in the national food rescue movement. We have built on our success with the continued development and honing of our entire organization in order to be able to meaningfully address the food insecurity needs of the nation. These important steps include:
1. Development of our next-generation proprietary, award-winning mobile app.
To stay ahead of the ever-evolving information needs of the food rescue community – which is comprised of food donors, receiving agencies that distribute the rescued food, and volunteer food rescuers who transport the food – we have developed the next generation of our ground-breaking technology. The addition of new and more robust features will enable greater engagement of the food rescue community, making it easier than ever to solve the ironic problems of food waste and food insecurity. New features on our next generation app’s web based and native IOS versions include:
- Food Donor Portal to enable these key partners to list and track their food donations;
- Receiving Agency Portal to enable these front line organizations to list their specific needs and track the food they receive;
- Automated Food Rescue Matching Algorithm based on supply, demand, capacity and distance;
- Enhanced communications processes and award recognition programs for volunteers;
- Availability of the iOS app in the App Store (Android to follow next year).
2. Successfully honed business practices.
Over our five year history we have rescued over 26,000,000 meals which equates to $39,600,000 worth of food. Starting in 2011 in Fairfield County, CT, we have now expanded to ten sites nationwide. During that time we have learned a great deal about how best to rescue food and create the greatest impact with our efforts. This is evidenced by the fact that in August of 2016, we rescued over 500,000 meals, our highest monthly total ever. Two of our newest partnerships are with University of Notre Dame Campus Dining and Point 72 Asset Management, setting the stage for further expansion in the academic and corporate arenas. Our successful expansion is proof positive that the Food Rescue US model is well honed and ready to be replicated on a wide scale basis throughout the US.
3. Expanded Board of Directors with extensive resources, skills and expertise.
As Community Plates has evolved into Food Rescue US, great care has been taken to expand the Board strategically. Through Board expansion Food Rescue US has recently completed its first financial audit, hired a Director of Development,
developed significant social media and marketing programs and established the full governance policies necessary to support our national efforts. Together, this deeply committed Board along with our visionary founders and extremely passionate staff are prepared to lead Food Rescue US on its march toward ending food insecurity in the United States.