Providing healthy, nutritious food to all isn’t often something one person can do alone. It takes a community.
Food Rescue, a Goodwill of Northern Michigan program, involves the entire community on their mission of providing produce for those in need. Their main goal? To provide access to healthy food for hungry people as well as reducing food waste in the community, according to their website.
What is Food Rescue?
How does this program work? Their website states that they collect fresh, healthy food that expires soon and delivers it to places in the community that need it, such as food pantries, shelters and community meal sites. They do this all on the same day and for free, making it easy and convenient for people to get the healthy food that they need.
And their numbers speak of their life-changing impact in the community: over the last 10 years, Food Rescue has rescued and delivered 9 million pounds of food. And when 4 pounds of food can feed a family of four, that’s a lot of families that have had nutritious food to eat because of Food Rescue.
With their impact, Food Rescue is providing access to good food for those who are in need of it, lower the costs for food pantries and similar organizations to operate and stop that valuable, nutritious food from going to waste.
Community Impact
Food Rescue has made a difference in the communities in northern Michigan, which is why Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars - Traverse City is thrilled to have partnered with them in a four-month long campaign to raise support for the organization.
“They are just such a great organization and provide a vital service,” Fustini’s Traverse City manager Liz Lancashire said. “There is lots of good, healthy food out there that would otherwise go to waste. Food Rescue provides that food to those that need some help and in doing so, rescues it from going to waste. It is important that people recognize that there are people who experience food insecurity right here in our town and that eating unhealthy food is not just matter of choice. For some, it is the only choice.”
Having partnered in previous fundraisers and events, Fustini’s is excited to partner with Food Rescue for this milestone celebration.
As a way to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Fustini’s Traverse City kicked off a campaign in June to donate $1 from every bottle sold to the work of Food Rescue.
A bottle of Tuscan Herb? $1 toward feeding a family.
A 350mL of Michigan Apple? $1 more to making sure kids are well nourished.
A perfect oil and vinegar hostess gift? $1 each to bringing back family dinners.
This campaign in Traverse City’s Fustini’s is part of the “Delicious Decade” initiative. As each of the four stores celebrate their 10th anniversary, they’ll host a fundraiser to make a difference in their own communities.
“We realize that our successes have been due to the warm welcome from our community,” Liz said. “Celebrating our 10th year, it seemed like an appropriate time to give back in a significant way. Our relationships have turned into friendships along the way.”
With Fustini’s commitment to the communities in which they operate, supporting Food Rescue was a choice that made sense. “Their values of feeding people healthy food align with ours,” she said. “We’re all about helping people make healthy choices and realizing the joy and health benefits of eating well.”
To mark the culmination of this fundraiser with Food Rescue, Fustini’s Traverse City hosted a community celebration with food tasting and refreshments on Sept. 26. Guests could learn more about the amazing work Food Rescue is doing in the community, as well as enjoy connecting with others in the community.