In New York City, one in six people is food insecure, which means that they don’t have consistent access to enough food, and they may not know where their next meal is coming from. Thankfully, there’s a program to recover leftover food from restaurants all around the city and distribute it to those in need. Rescuing Leftover Cuisine is a NYC-based non-profit dedicated to connecting food with the hungry and reducing food waste, and they’re currently seeking general volunteers and also looking for two Lead Rescuers in Greenpoint.
“A Lead Rescuer is a volunteer who leads others on food rescue events, takes attendance, and reports the number of pounds of food rescued. All of our food rescue events are led by one, and they ensure that the rescued food arrives at its destination safely,” says Melina Alfano, a Volunteer Outreach Associate for RLC. The Lead Rescuer commitment is just one hour per week for at least four months, after attending an orientation and training session.
RLC needs one Lead Rescuer on Mondays at Threes Brewing/Purslane (113 Franklin Street) from 1oam-11am, and one at Mssng Peces (836 Manhattan Ave) on Fridays from 2:30pm-3:30pm. The Lead Rescuer should be able to commit to those specific times and locations, while general volunteers can help out sporadically depending on their schedules. Rescuers help bring food from partner restaurants to a local human service agency.
At each rescue event, RLC saves 50 pounds of food on average, which feeds about 40 people! If you’re interested in volunteering or learning more, you can contact Melinda Alfano at [email protected].