Loving Lovin’ Spoonfuls
I’ve been thinking a lot about families struggling with food insecurity, especially, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Many rely on food banks and pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, to provide reliable meal support. With the economy shedding jobs at historical rates and less financial security, it’s critically important to ensure that food is not wasted, but rather distributed to the families that need the help. And this is where our friends at Lovin’ Spoonfuls enter the mix.
Lovin’ Spoonfuls is a food rescue 501c3 that “rescues” food from being thrown away by grocery stores, farmers, wholesalers, producers and restaurants that no longer deem the products usable for their purposes. They rescue and distribute millions of pounds of fresh, healthy food (much of it perishable) or food near expiration from the landfills each year. Lovin’ Spoonfuls then distributes this food in the same day to more than 100 nonprofit partners during this pandemic across Greater Boston, the MetroWest, and Western Massachusetts.
Last week I caught-up with the folks at Lovin’ Spoonfuls for an update on their operations during the pandemic and here were the major takeaways:
- In early-mid March there was a consumer rush to stockpile food, cleaning products, and other necessities, which resulted in some shortages of food, but they were still able to operate and feed people most in need;
- By the end of March, the supply of food being rescued had once again stabilized and over the past five weeks Lovin’ Spoonfuls has rescued and distributed more than 350,000 pounds of food. This has allowed people in our communities to create more than 280,000 meals;
- While restaurants (very efficient with limited waste) are rarely a part of their regular food rescue work, Lovin’ Spoonfuls was able to offer one-time pick-ups for restaurants forced to close or reduce operations resulted in a needed supply of food in March;
- Now into April, Lovin’ Spoonfuls has maintained their full staff (emergency increased pay for drivers instituted while the crisis continues) with regular pick-up schedule that includes 7 refrigerated trucks on the road each day;
- A new normal for food rescue has been established that includes increased communication with corporate partners and updated safety procedures for social distancing, food safety and the health of their employees – gloves, wipes, sanitizer, masks, etc.
- For updates from Lovin’ Spoonfuls please visit their website.
Lovin’ Spoonfuls continues to serve a critical need in the communities they serve during these very uncertain times.
If you’d like to support their incredible efforts, you can donate here. Every bit helps!
