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Volunteer drivers "rescue" extra food from retail stores and restaurants that would have otherwise been thrown away and give it to those in need.
Filed Under:412 Food Rescue, Food Insecurity, Local TV, Pittsburgh, Volunteering, volunteers

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Over 12,000 412 Food Rescue volunteers have completed more than 100,000 rescues.

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The nonprofit organization is powered by the technology platform Food Rescue Hero, which gets volunteer drivers to “rescue” surplus food from retail stores and restaurants and bring it to a site where people who experience food insecurity can get to it.

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The so-called “Food Rescue Heroes” have saved more than 17 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of 14.2 million meals, that otherwise would have been thrown out.

412 Food Rescue says pre-pandemic, they were averaging about 1,900 rescues a month. From March 2020 to March 2021, they were averaging 2,900 rescues.

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People who want to become food rescue heroes can download the 412 Food Rescue app on the App Store or Google Play.