Thank you for your continued support of our mission to rescue surplus items—food, clothing, and household goods—and redirect them to neighbors in need. Your generosity makes every rescue possible, and as the seasons change, we’re excited to share the incredible growth and impact we’ve achieved together so far this year!
Notable Milestones: By the Numbers
Thanks to the dedication of our partners and volunteers, we’ve hit some truly inspiring numbers so far this year:
- Over 50,000 lbs rescued so far this year—an amazing accomplishment… 25 tons of food, clothing, and household goods to those in need!
- 435 pickups completed this year, showing the dedication of our volunteer rescue teams.
Expanding Our Network: New Partnerships & Highlights
This season has brought several exciting new partners into our network, strengthening our ability to minimize waste and maximize the number of items given to those in need:
- Gogle Farms Orchard (Coplay, PA): We rescue fresh apples, pears and peaches, as well as any leftover vegetables from their weekend farmstand.
- Parkland School District – Summer Program: Throughout the summer, PSD partnered with us to rescue unopened cartons of milk, fruit, and vegetables. These nutritious snacks were picked up weekly and redirected to local food pantries. In addition to continuing our pickups at Parkland High School each week, we are thrilled to announce plans to expand this program to all 12 schools in the district, beginning with the middle schools!
- UNFI: We rescued several pallets of reusable shopping bags, extending their usable life, rather than ending up in the landfill. These bags were redistributed to various nonprofits in the area.
- City View Diner (Whitehall, PA): Joining us as a regular donor of excess food items.
- FEAST Food Works: We facilitated the rescue of pallets of pasta sauce, which were successfully picked up by Second Harvest (Lehigh Valley) and Helping Harvest (Berks County).
- Parkland Cares Food Pantry: We’ve established a great two-way relationship, acting as both a donor of surplus items and a recipient of items we’ve rescued.
None of this vital work would be possible without our incredible volunteers, especially the amazing team from Via of the Lehigh Valley who handle a significant portion of our weekday rescues and deliveries.
Fueling the Mission: Fundraising & Operations
We are deeply grateful for the financial support that keeps our wheels turning and allows us to look toward the future:
- We received $1,000 from the United Way of the Lehigh Valley
- We received $2,000 from the Island Foundation of MA
- We were awarded a $5,000 grant from the Harry C. Trexler Trust
- A heartfelt thank you to all our monthly $1/day donors—these recurring gifts really make a difference and provide crucial stability!
Beyond food rescue, our Surplus Program continues to thrive, connecting nonprofits with excess items to other nonprofits in need. Thanks to forward thinking, planning, and coordination, this program minimizes waste by connecting food, necessary household items and clothing with those who need them.
To streamline our rapidly growing operations, we’ve also begun using the Food Rescue US website/app to help with rescue and delivery coordination, communication with volunteers, and reporting.
Our Vision: Future Plans
As we look ahead, we’re focused on scaling our impact and making our operations more efficient:
- Vehicle Expansion: Boost our campaign to raise money for a truck, van, minivan, or similar to handle our ever-increasing volume of rescues.
- Infrastructure: Find and utilize a small warehouse to temporarily store, sort, and stage rescued items for redistribution.
- Business & Organization Outreach: Partner with even more businesses, school districts, community centers, and food pantries to decrease waste and increase donations across the Lehigh Valley.
How You Can Help Us Grow
We are incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together, but our ability to rescue more is limited only by our resources.
- Donate Money: Your contribution helps us cover supplies, storage, fuel, maintenance, and, most importantly, helps us reach our goal of acquiring a large, efficient transport van. A one-time tax-deductible donation is always welcome, or you can consider a recurring monthly contribution to help us sustain our mission*.
- Donate Time: We urgently need more dedicated volunteers to help with weekday and weekend rescues and deliveries. If you’re interested in volunteering, please let us know!
- Make an Introduction: If you have a personal connection with an auto dealership, a business that has surplus warehouse space, or a business interested in donating surplus items, we’d greatly appreciate an introduction!
Your continued generosity fuels our mission to reduce waste and build a more sustainable and compassionate community. We are profoundly grateful for your partnership in this vital work and look forward to sharing more updates on the difference we are making together.