For that last couple of months of the year, when we seem to be surrounded by excess everything, we will be featuring an organization that gathers that excess and makes sure it gets it distributed to those that need it most. We were happy to find Free the Need - a local non-profit that takes surplus food and puts it on the hands of families & individuals in need. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted. (WHAAAAAA??) In the U.S. roughly 40% of food losses happen at retail and consumer levels. This is the surplus Feed the Need taps into. Their distribution programs are a solution for transforming this vast food waste into nourishment for families. With SNAP benefits and other federal food assistance programs getting axed due to the shutdown (and honestly just our current shitty government in general )- it felt like a good time to focus on getting our fellow neighbors fed. Very important to support organizations like this right now!
From their website:
Free the Need was started in 1989 by a group of friends who wanted to improve the welfare of families and children in their area. Founded on the idea that there is enough to go around, they recognized the availability of surplus food and goods in the greater Bay Area and that it was just a matter of getting it to people, so that’s where Free the Need came in. Loading their cars at the South San Francisco Produce Market, sorting it on their front lawn, and boxing it up and distributing it into local neighborhoods to families that were struggling to make ends meet was the beginning of Free the Need.
Since 1989, volunteers have collected and distributed over 5 million pounds of food to over 86 thousand families. This food has been distributed to families within specific neighborhoods in San Francisco, Alameda and Marin counties. In 2001, Free the Need expanded to Siskiyou County.
Affectionately named “Food Day,” one day every week volunteers collect, sort and box-up donations of fresh produce, load a vehicle which drives into the neighborhood and distributes the family-sized food boxes (up to 45 lbs each!) to the residents on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, volunteers and neighborhood residents help carry and deliver the food boxes to mothers with infants or young children, shut-ins and the elderly.
*2% of profits from services and 10% of profits from retail over the next 2 months will go to this organization. Donate directly on your own here!*
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