Rescue Round-Up: Tricks and Treats of Food Rescue
Food rescue is the practice of collecting fresh, edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it to local social service agencies. But what tricks go into coordinating and facilitating a food rescue pick-up? At Food Link, we pride ourselves on our nimble response to opportunities and attentiveness to our partners. This year, to match the growing needs due to SNAP and other funding cuts, we're on track to rescue more food than ever, but what does that look like on the ground? In this blog post, our admin assistant Darcy delves into our top 2025 food rescue pick-ups! Read on to learn how Food Link balances receptivity, logistics, and community to get treats into the hands of your neighbors.
Image Description: Orange section header with the title: “If you have bulk food to donate, who you gonna call? Food Link!” in brown. On the left of the title is a graphic of a ghost with glasses swiping on a mobile phone. On the right is a graphic of a box of bread, bottles, and apples.
Image Description: A Food Link van is parked outside of a Produce Market loading dock.
On Wednesday morning, September 3rd, a local food manufacturer knew who to call when they had food to donate. And Food Link was ready to respond. As soon as we learned that they had 7,125 prepared meals available for rescue due to a minor production error, our staff immediately mobilized.
First, our Arlington Logistics Manager, Emma, facilitated communication with the manufacturer, Food Link staff, and our recipients to formulate plans for pickups and drop-offs. That afternoon, our Executive Director, Rachel, and a regular volunteer visited the manufacturer’s warehouse to plan how we could arrange the meals for delivery and begin the repackaging process. Meanwhile, our Volunteer Coordinator, Bridget M., organized a team to go to the facility the next day.
On Thursday, September 4th, Operations Associate Jo led seven volunteers in repackaging at the warehouse. When they arrived, they realized the plans constructed the day before would have to change due to other activities occurring in the space. However, Jo and the volunteers overcame the challenges and packed the remaining meals. Two more volunteers spent six hours the next day picking up the meals and delivering them to our Hub and two of our recipient organizations.
In total, we distributed 6,800 meals to our larger partners, which included pantries, shelters, food programs, and community centers, and brought 375 meals to the Hub for our smaller recipients. And this wasn’t the end of our partnership with this manufacturer. A month later, they reached out about a second major donation of prepared meals. As a result, Food Link was able to rescue another 7,100 meals for our recipients.
Image Description: Ops Associate Jo and a volunteer pose with bags and boxes of food from Solo Produce.
Food Link takes advantage of other opportunities that come our way, too. When we connected with Solo Produce this Fall, a wholesale distributor next to the New England Produce Market in Chelsea, we quickly added Friday pickups to our van driver shifts already in the area. These donations have helped increase the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables available for our weekend recipients. Additionally, in September, we partnered with distributor Little Spoon to receive two pallets of baby and toddler foods, which allowed us to deliver donations to Coptic Church, Menotomy Manor, and other family programs. Food Link’s openness to new opportunities enables us to bring nourishing food to our communities.
Image Description: Brown section header with the title: “This is Community, Everybody Make a Scene!” in tan. On the left of the title is a graphic of smiling, dancing orange pepper with crosses for eyes. On the right is a graphic of a smiling, dancing red jalapeño pepper.
While our food rescues require responsiveness, it is strong relationships with our community partners that truly make our pickups bountiful. One example of this is our partnership with the Boston Area Gleaners. The Gleaners have been one of our longtime food donors, providing fresh produce they recover from local farms. For the last two summers, we signed on to receive 36 boxes of produce weekly July through November. At times, the Gleaners have given us up to 25 additional boxes, particularly during their peak summer season.
Thanks to our membership, we have received a range of fruits and vegetables, including cantaloupes, peaches, callaloo, lettuce, avocados, asparagus, caulini, summer squash, tomatoes, jalapeños, arugula, honeydew, and more. Our collaboration with the Gleaners has been instrumental in providing nutritious food to our partners across Greater Boston, from Somerville to Roslindale to Medford to Boston to Lynn.
Image Description: Photo of mixed radishes from the Boston Area Gleaners.
Besides strengthening our current relationships, we also reconnect with our previous partners. In March, Food Link Co-Founder and Board Vice President Julie Kremer reached out to Garelick Farms, with whom we had worked a few years ago. Now, we receive regular donations of plain and chocolate milk along with sporadic offerings of unique flavors like berry and orange cream.
Our current partners also help us expand our reach. Recently, our recurring donor, Paul Marks, a wholesale distributor in Everett, connected us to Cindy’s Kitchen Dips in Brockton. Over the last couple of months, we have received over 7,000 lbs of veggie dips and dressings that we have sent to various shelters, pantries, and other community aid programs. We heard from the Salem Food Pantry that the dips were so popular that a third of their delivery was gone within a day. By fostering firm relationships with our partners, we are able to continue sourcing a diverse range of food and drinks for our recipients.
Image Description: Dark purple section header with the title: “We Did the Mash, the Food Link Mash!” in light green. On the left of the title is a graphic of a DJ pumpkin next to a smiling, dancing pumpkin. On the right is a graphic of an orange truck full of pumpkins in its wagon.
Now, you understand our tricks for directing good food to where it’s needed most instead of to waste. With responsiveness to opportunities, careful planning, and robust coordination, we can continue distributing prepared meals, fresh fruits and vegetables, and more to over 150,000 people throughout Greater Boston. We hope you enjoyed this treat – and please stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes looks at our operations! Happy Halloween!
Image Description: Photo of a pumpkin sitting on a banana box overlooking our loading dock. Outside, a Food Link van is parked.
If you would like to support Food Link so we can continue rescuing food for your neighbors, please consider making a gift or signing up to volunteer. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to keep up with all Food Link news. If you have any questions, email us at info@foodlinkma.org or call us at 781-819-4225.