Since Food Rescue's inception, we have connected over 150 Little Caesars franchise store locations and owners with caring agencies, or mentored them so they could establish food recovery policies on their own.  While some of those franchises have been sold to new owners who were not receptive and ended their food recovery policies, still over 90 continue on to this day to donate regularly to food pantries and caring agencies.  We receive sign in sheets from many of these franchises at the end of each year just to demonstrate how much food from Little Caesars is rescued each year on a recurring basis that originated from our advocacy, education, and solicitation efforts. Why post these sheets?  -Because sometimes, it's honestly too much food to imagine.  Hard to believe even.  So with that in mind, view the stats from these 21 stores, and see the corresponding sign in sheets that reflect an example of what we receive each year.  These are not 1 time reports over many years. These rescues recur annually!!!!!!!!!!!!  That's 400,000 plus meals if you consider 2 pieces of pizza a meal.  There are hundreds more sign in sheets we could post, but hopefully this provides an snapshot of impact food recovery policies can have on the community and the environment.  

​Store                          Pizzas and Other            Dollars

​Whitehall OH                     7567                      $37,835
Grove City OH                   7106                      $35,530
Hilliard  OH                        8661                      $43,305
Westerville   OH                 5535                      $27,675
Hard Road OH                   3355                      $16,775
Harrisburg Pike OH            4094                      $20,470
Gahanna   OH                    5410                      $27,050
Demorest  OH                    4762                      $23,810
East Broad   OH                 1900                      $9,500
Nobelsville    IN                   8531                      $42,655
Kokomo    IN                       4484                       $22,420
Fishers       IN                      3654                      $18,270
Georgetown  IN                    4722                      $23,610
Kentucky Ave   IN                6,941                    $34,705
Bluff Road     IN                   6,120                     $30,600
South East   IN                    2,789                     $13,945
East Washington IN            6,825                     $34,125
West Washington   IN         3,478                     $17,390
McGallaird    IN                   4,763                    $23,815
Marion      IN                       4,325                    $21,625
Tillotson   IN                        2,101                   $10,505

Ultra C's LLC                 107,123               $535,615

The stories below  appeared in the Herald Times by Mary Keck and The Times-Mail News by Roger Moon.  

NL schools donating food to avoid waste

by Roger Moon

BEDFORD — Food waste in the United States totals billions of pounds each year. In 2010, the number of pounds was 133 billion, according to research conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture.Communities across the country have responded by finding ways to reduce that number.

Excess food from the kitchens in the North Lawrence Community Schools system are being donated to the local Becky’s Place shelter for women and children in an effort to keep from throwing the food away.

​“There aren’t a lot of leftovers, but we sure don’t want to throw any of it away,” said Stacie Green, NLCS food services director. She said excess food — items that never left the kitchen for the lunchroom — often is sent to the shelter, a practice that Green said has been in place at least a couple of years.She said the school’s kitchens have an “offer versus serve” policy, which means a student can decline having a particular item placed on his tray. That food item then qualifies to be donated.
Green said the donations are made “anytime we have 10 servings or more (in excess).”
The food is eagerly received by Becky’s Place. "We are very grateful that they give that to us. It helps a lot,” said Corrina Hayes, Becky’s Place director. She said donations are received from North Lawrence kitchens two or three times a week and more often during the summer meal program. “We get a lot of food that’s left over and that helps out tremendously. Obviously, we are nonprofit. It helps our food budget a lot,” Hayes said.

​
MCCSC, North Lawrence schools pitching in to reduce food waste

Contributions by Mary Keck

In Monroe County, the Hoosier Hills Food Bank stops by a school in Monroe County Community School Corp. at least once a day to pick up leftover food. In 2015, MCCSC donated 17,327 pounds of prepared food to HHFB.

“If we prepared it, as long as we’re the only ones that handled it, if we can reuse it, we reuse it,” said Hattie Johnson, food service director for MCCSC, in a phone interview.
In addition to donations of prepared food, some elementary schools use a “shared table.” If a student purchases a carton of milk or a wrapped piece of fruit, they can donate on an individual basis to the shared table, where another student can have the food item.

According to Johnson, the only foods that must be thrown away are those that might be handled by someone other than food service employees. For example, the tomatoes on the salad bar might have to be tossed at the end of the day even though tongs have been made available.

“If it’s getting toward the end of the lunch, (staff) are not going to restock it. Once the public has accessed it, leftover waste can’t be served up to the public again,” she said.
Sanitation is an important issue, Johnson notes. Students often wonder why the district wraps up fruit or serves apples with tongs. If they don’t, that food can’t be reused unless school officials are certain it hasn’t been handled.

Herald-Times reporter Mary Keck contributed to this story.

Program at Zionsville Middle School is Blazing a New Trail
​

​When the enormously complex issue of food waste overwhelms you, you need to connect with John Williamson at Food Rescue.  He has been leading the way in eliminating food waste through his extensive outreach of food recovery programs.  When I began focusing on how much perfectly good food was being thrown away in our schools, it kept me up at night.  I found Food Rescue and learned that John has not only created a solution, but also paved an easy path for people like me to follow.  His website offers a wealth of information on how to initiate a successful food recovery program yourself. 
               Above and beyond providing valuable resources, John has walked me through the process over several phone conversations and dozens of emails.  He helped me overcome the typical roadblocks that exist when trying to convince school administrators that donating food is encouraged by the EPA, USDA, and legally acceptable under the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.  His mission to create student leaders is the only way change will occur on this level.  I shared his student videos with our school’s Green Club and it inspired these kids to take ownership of the first food recovery pilot program in the district.  They are now teaching other kids the importance of keeping food out landfills and providing an alternative to throwing away unwanted food. 
               I hope to inspire others just as John has inspired me.  When more people become aware of the fact that 40% of the food in this country goes uneaten while 1 in 7 families struggle with food insecurity, we can create local action to bridge this gap.  Food waste is not just a distribution problem; it is a lack of awareness and understanding.  Organizations like Food Rescue are helping to shed light on the liability protection for good faith donors and remove obstacles to get food on the table of those in need.  Thank you John Williamson for empowering me with knowledge so that I can make a difference in my own community.  
 
Jennifer Kainz
Presdident Founder
Mindful Waste

FOOD RESCUE NOTE:   Jennifer's work can be seen here, and she is currently mentoring a neighboring school district who inquired about K-12 Food Rescue on our website.  

You Rock Jennifer!!!!!!!  Thanks for the guest blog post!