Food Rescue US was founded in Fairfield County in 2011 when founders Jeff Schacher and Kevin Mullins recognized that two growing challenges—food insecurity and food waste—could be solved together with an innovative app, volunteers, and a direct-transfer model. The organization created a unique model of food rescue that is simple, sustainable, and scalable, engaging volunteers and food donors through a proprietary web-based app to directly transfer nutritious excess food to social service agencies serving people experiencing food insecurity. Since founding, Food Rescue US has provided more than 166 million meals and kept more than 199 million pounds of excess food out of landfills, now operating in 43 locations across 23 states and the District of Columbia and constantly growing.
Why It Matters: Food Rescue US elegantly connects two problems—food insecurity and food waste—into a single solution, demonstrating that surplus food reaching people in need simultaneously addresses hunger and reduces the greenhouse gas emissions from landfilled food that contribute to climate change. By building a simple, sustainable, and scalable model powered by technology and volunteers rather than costly infrastructure, the organization proves that food rescue can expand rapidly to meet community needs—growing from one county to 43 locations across 23 states. The direct-transfer approach ensures nutritious food moves efficiently from donors to social service agencies, maximizing both food quality and volunteer impact.
