There’s a new app to help connect volunteers with fresh food donations with hunger-relief organizations in the First State.
The 302 Food Rescue app is a collaboration between the Food Bank of Delaware, Bayhealth, the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association (ASA):
Food Bank communications director Kim Turner says this is the first statewide food app in the country.
“It’s a phone app that volunteers can use to make pickups at grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants and other food service companies that have food that is still good but they can’t serve it to people," she said. "So we’re diverting food from the landfills and putting it into the hands of our neighbors in need.”
Volunteers pick up food and drop it off at a local food pantry, shelter or soup kitchen - any organization that partners with the Food Bank of Delaware.
Turner says it's a way to make the most of fresh, healthy foods.
“We know that a lot of the people that we serve here at the Food Bank of Delaware have a lot of diet-related conditions - they may have diabetes, they may have high blood pressure - and we know that a healthy diet can help mitigate some of these conditions," said Turner. "So we’re really focused with our partners on making sure that we can get more fresh food in the people’s hands that need it.”
Turner says the app asks for a name, email address and what type of vehicle a person has to help match people to an appropriate pickup.
She says people will get a “ping” on their cell phone where there is an available rescue in their area; they can claim it or if not available, wait for the next opportunity.
Turner says when a pickup is accepted, a person heads the store or restaurant and pick up the food and deliver it to the organization that can use it.
A 2020 Feeding America study shows nearly 94,000 Delawareans face hunger, including about 31,000 children.
