The ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund

Last Updated 12/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely disrupted the food supply chain, resulting in a surge of on-farm food loss, food business closures, and a growing number of food insecure individuals. In response to these challenges, we launched the ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund to quickly deliver more than $3.5 million in vital funding to mid-sized organizations that could rapidly scale food waste reduction and hunger relief efforts.

The ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund is a streamlined, one-stop, rapid response vehicle for donors to deliver critical support to these organizations. 100 percent of donations were directed to well-vetted food waste solution providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. The Fund raised and distributed more than $3.5 million to 37 for-profit and nonprofit organizations that collectively drove impact of more than 90 million pounds of food waste prevented (or 75 million meals) rescued within 90 days. We continue to help these organizations grow their impact beyond financial support by facilitating coordination and collaboration among the grantees, as well as connections to potential funders and partners.

Beyond these 37 organizations, there are many others doing impactful work. To continue saving as much food as possible from going to waste along the supply chain and getting it to people in need, ReFED continues to showcase the work of other food waste heroes in our COVID-19 Food Waste Fundable Initiatives Directory to help them attract additional funding and partnerships to fully scale their work.

In collaboration with

Contributors to the fund

We are very appreciative of the many donors who contributed the just-in-time capital needed during COVID-19. Through a generous gift from Betsy & Jesse Fink and an anonymous donor that covered the Fund's administration costs, 100 percent of each donation went where it was needed most.

If you would like to learn more about the Fund and discuss a contribution to ReFED, please email Alexandria Coari at alexandria.coari@refed.com.

Major Gift Contributors

Ajana Foundation
Atticus Trust
Betsy & Jesse Fink
Caerus Foundation, Inc.
Crown Family Philanthropies
Fink Family Foundation
Food and Nutrition Resources Foundation, Inc.
Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation
Jackie & Orion Hindawi
Josie Merck
June & Paul Rossetti
The JPB Foundation
The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation
Peter Welles
Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
Tiller Family Foundation
Vermont Community Foundation
Zegar Family Foundation
Anonymous Donor (1)
Anonymous Donor (2)

other Contributors

Aditya Singh
Amanda Jones
Amy Theobald
Barbara Brabetz
Cody Hazen
Edin Golomb
Elizabeth Cheek
Elisa Massenzio
Ellen Capy
Eric B.
Frances Adams
Harry Hayman
Helen Foster
Ida Posner
Jennifer Nolley
John Heimburg
John Ryans
Julie Ungerecht
Kelly Gogerty
Loida Wexler
Marjorie Adams
Oksana Ostrovsky
Rich Guard
Sandra Boston
Sharon Tufaro
Shauna Turnbull
Sue Miller
Terry Anderson
Tony Pearson
Vivian Kasen
Anonymous (20)

The REFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund

Grantees:

412 Food Rescue

412 Food Rescue is expanding food access services through its Food Rescue Hero mobile app by developing a home delivery feature to serve the growing number of isolated food insecure individuals. A national platform will also be released, allowing food rescue organizations across the country to use the technology. Nearly 3,000,000 meals (3,600,000 pounds of food) will be delivered to those who need it over the next 90 days.

Aloha Harvest

Aloha Harvest is scaling hunger relief efforts in Hawaii by working directly with local farmers, ranchers, fisherman, and distributors to get nutritious food to those in need, especially children, seniors, and those affected by the decline in island tourism. Since the onset of COVID-19, Aloha Harvest has tripled the volume of food recovered and quadrupled the number of community partners. In the next 90 days, they expect to rescue over 1,000,000 pounds of food.

BlueCart

BlueCart is a B2B marketplace for the hospitality industry, working with over 82,500 restaurants and suppliers. In response to COVID-19, they are expanding their services to include a B2FoodBank model, offering their procurement platform free of charge for food banks to purchase surplus and discounted products from suppliers. The company believes this initiative could save nearly $110 million worth of otherwise wasted food.

Boston Area Gleaners

Boston Area Gleaners (BAG) works closely with local farms and volunteer laborers (gleaners) to provide hunger-relief programs across Massachusetts with access to fresh, high-quality produce that would otherwise be plowed under. BAG expects to rescue and distribute more than 600,000 pounds of fresh food over the next 90 days and is supporting efforts to replicate its model nationally.

Brighter Bites

Brighter Bites, through its existing programs, plans to deliver more than 11,500,000 pounds of produce to food insecure individuals over the next 90 days. The organization has also piloted a new program that pays farmers the marginal cost of their crops to prevent them from being tilled under. One example of the first successes of Brighter Bites’ new program is the rescue of 30,000 pounds of romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley and its delivery to the Los Angeles Food Bank.

Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has rescued more than 9,600,000 pounds of food since the onset of the pandemic. Through creative partnerships with companies like FedEx, Pennsylvania Farm Show, and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System, they have increased their capacity and are able to compensate farmers, at least in part, for the costs associated with recovering produce. Over the next 90 days, they anticipate rescuing 12,900,000 pounds of food.

DC Central Kitchen

DC Central Kitchen is leveraging its community kitchen model to procure local vegetables and pay farmers their marginal costs, so that produce is not left in the fields. Over the next 90 days, they expect to recover at least 500,000 pounds of produce for their emergency food and meal distribution program for food insecure individuals in the Washington, D.C. area.

Dreaming Out Loud

Dreaming Out Loud (DOL) creates economic opportunities for marginalized communities by operating a local sourcing food hub that supports small local farms (60 percent are farmers of color and 70 percent are women) and Black-owned food enterprises in feeding the DC and MD region through farmers markets and community supported agriculture. Additionally, in partnership with World Central Kitchen, graduates from DOL’s Food Business Incubator are creating 1,200 meals daily for those impacted by COVID-19. They expect to recover at least 500,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days.

FarmDrop

FarmDrop’s online platform enables pop-up farmers markets that allow farmers to deliver products to a central location, which volunteer site managers then distribute by curbside pick-up or direct home delivery. FarmDrop is operational in six localities in Maine and plans to expand rapidly to additional states, keeping an estimated 500,000 pounds of food from being wasted over the next 90 days.

FarmLink

FarmLink has created a new supply chain by providing logistics and distribution support to move surplus food from farms to food banks, while providing economic relief to farm workers and truckers. Since March, FarmLink has rescued over 250,000 pounds of fresh food and expects to collect and deliver another 500,000 pounds in the next 90 days.

Food Connect

Food Connect is using its technology to connect food and hunger relief efforts in real time, so logistics, matching, and distribution happen seamlessly. As one of DoorDash’s 2020 Social Impact Partners and in partnership with a new network of hospitals, the organization will facilitate the delivery of food directly to patients and senior centers that are in dire need of these types of services. This initiative is expected to recover more than 500,000 pounds of food over the next 90 days.

Food Forward

Food Forward is scaling its wholesale produce recovery program in Southern California by expanding its Produce Pit Stop facility and growing the number of food hub locations. The increased capacity will result in at least an additional 2.4 million pounds of rescued food over the next 90 days.

Food Rescue Alliance

Food Rescue Alliance (FRA), managed by Boulder Food Rescue, is a national effort that supports the development and growth of 24 food rescue member organizations across the U.S. Since the onset of the pandemic, FRA members have rescued nearly 740,000 pounds of food monthly. Collectively, they expect to rescue and distribute over 2,000,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days.

Food Rescue US

Food Rescue US (FRUS) has responded to COVID-19 by launching two new prepared food and last-mile delivery hunger relief initiatives – Restaurant Meal Programs and Community Kitchens, a collaboration with World Central Kitchen. Over the next 90 days, FRUS expects to deliver two million meals from food that otherwise would have been wasted.

Forager

Forager’s technology platform digitizes the food recovery supply chain to help farmers continue to grow and sell what they produce. Forager also helps gleaning organizations with the aggregation, documentation, and marketing of both surplus and donated crops. In the next 90 days, Forager aims to enable farmers in ten states to sell 5 million pounds of fresh produce that might otherwise have been wasted.

Full Harvest

Full Harvest is a B2B online marketplace that connects food and beverage companies directly to farms to buy imperfect and surplus produce. In response to COVID-19, Full Harvest is leveraging their marketplace to support food banks and nonprofits. They expect to distribute over 500,000 pounds of fresh produce to insecure families through partnerships with World Central Kitchen, Salesforce, and others over the next 90 days.

Goodr

Goodr is a sustainable food waste management technology and logistics company focused on ending hunger. The company is offering their services to farmers, distributors, and suppliers impacted by COVID-19 through a new rapid food recovery program. Using the Goodr app, food donors will receive logistics and delivery resources, allowing them to divert surplus food from landfills and get it to local food agencies.

Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic

The Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic (HFLPC) has written issue briefs about the impacts of COVID-19 on the food system, developed food policy recommendations, and drafted federal legislation since the onset of the pandemic. When policies, such as the ones HFLPC recommends to expand enhanced tax deductions for food donors or to enable wider use of SNAP benefits, are enacted, tens of millions more pounds of food waste will be rescued.

Harvest Against Hunger

Harvest Against Hunger (HAH) connects farmers, truckers, volunteers, and food banks in order to get fresh produce to food insecure individuals. In response to COVID-19, HAH is scaling its Farm to Food Pantry and Farmers Share initiatives and expects to rescue and deliver over 850,000 pounds of fresh food over the next 90 days.

L&M Companies

L&M Companies is a year-round grower and supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the company has sourced, packed, and distributed over 900,000 pounds of produce to hunger relief organizations in Florida. In the next 90 days, L&M expects to rescue 16,000,000 pounds of food as they expand their Farmers to Families Food Box Program to North Carolina, delivering food to rural families in need.

Lovin’ Spoonfuls

Lovin’ Spoonfuls facilitates the recovery and distribution of healthy, perishable food that would otherwise be discarded and has expanded its operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March, Lovin’ Spoonfuls has rescued and distributed over 610,000 pounds of food to food insecure individuals in Massachusetts and expects to double that in the next 90 days.

Move for Hunger

Move for Hunger is leveraging its unique and national logistics network of trucking capacity and movers to rescue and transport food to those that need it most. Over the course of the first seven weeks of the pandemic, they were able to transport 384,000 pounds of food and expect to rescue more than 570,000 pounds in the next 90 days and continue to scale thereafter.

Natural Upcycling

In response to COVID-19, Natural Upcycling is expanding beyond its regular anaerobic digestion operations to address the vast quantities of perfectly healthy milk being dumped on farms. By leveraging its logistics and distribution expertise and partnering with the Dairy Farmers of America, Natural Upcycling is launching its initial recovery project by rescuing 25,000 gallons of surplus milk in upstate New York and delivering it to food banks.

Oceanside Unified School District

Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) has been providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner to students and their families since the closure of schools due to COVID-19. (One in two students is considered food insecure and relies on this service). In the next 90 days, OUSD will serve 720,000 meals (864,000 pounds of food) and continue to employ more than 100 Nutrition Services employees that would otherwise be without work.

Partnership for a Healthier America

Partnership for a Healthier America, in collaboration with the Produce Marketing Association, recently launched the Fresh Food Fund to provide boxes of high-quality fruits and vegetables to individuals in economically disadvantaged communities. This initiative is expected to distribute more than 250,000 pounds of rescued food in its pilot city and then quickly expand to 25 cities nationwide.

Plentiful (City Harvest)

Plentiful, developed by City Harvest in partnership with the United Way of NYC, is a digital communication system that allows food insecure individuals to connect directly with their local food agencies. Incorporating the Plentiful app into City Harvest’s work (expected to rescue and deliver more than 18,000,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days) will both increase the quantity of food rescued and create a more dignified experience for food insecure individuals.

Replate

Replate uses technology to mobilize communities to reliably redistribute surplus food to those experiencing food insecurity. In response to COVID-19, Replate launched Replate Home, a new channel for the food insecure to request food deliveries directly to their homes. To date, they’ve successfully piloted the new service in NY and the Bay Area and will launch Replate Home in L.A. before the end of the year. Over the next 90 days, they expect to recover more than 500,000 pounds of food.

Seashare

SeaShare works closely with the US seafood industry to source high quality, nutritious seafood and has provided more than 750,000 pounds of seafood to Feeding America-affiliated food banks across the country since the onset of COVID-19. Over the next 90 days, SeaShare expects to source, process, and deliver an additional 750,000 pounds to those in need.

Second Harvest Heartland

Second Harvest Heartland launched the Minnesota Central Kitchen (MCK) in March, a collaborative effort with the hospitality industry and social services sector to make and distribute healthy meals to food insecure individuals, as well as address the growing amount of otherwise wasted food during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the next 90 days, MCK expects to provide at least 426,000 meals and employ 100 individuals.

Second Servings of Houston

Second Servings of Houston (SSH) recovers and distributes fresh, surplus food in Houston, TX. During the onset of COVID-19, SSH nearly tripled the amount of food they recovered from the previous year (about 500,000 lbs of food) and launched a mass meal relief program that provides about 40,000 chef-prepared meals. They expect to recover 600,000 lbs of food in the next 90 days.

Table to Table

Table to Table (T2T) is a community-based food rescue program that provides perishable food to organizations that serve the hungry throughout New Jersey. In partnership with Matriark Foods, T2T will deliver healthy and convenient value-added meals such as soups and stews to food insecure individuals. They expect to rescue and process at least 500,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days.

Take Care (Bitwise Industries)

Take Care, developed by Bitwise Industries and in partnership with the Central CA Food Bank and Neighborhood Industries, is a custom software that streamlines requests from underserved communities and supports the coordination of grocery box pick-ups and deliveries. They expect to recover and distribute at least 600,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days.

The Wave Foundation

The Wave Foundation is a coalition of companies that are recovering, preparing, and distributing regional foods from farmers, fisherman, and ranchers to those in need, including the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, a strategic partner. They expect to recover 600,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days.

Treasure8

Treasure8 preserves the nutritional value of whole foods that may otherwise be wasted using their patented dehydration systems. In response to COVID-19, Treasure8 will prevent surplus fresh produce from going to waste on farms and at food businesses by transforming it into nutritional powders, and providing it to hunger relief organizations and frontline healthcare workers. Over the next 90 days, they expect to prevent at least 500,000 pounds of food from going to waste.

United Against Poverty

United Against Poverty takes a holistic approach to helping those in poverty in Florida through services including supplemental food aid, housing subsidies, crisis care, case management, as well as employment training and placement. In response to COVID-19, they launched a Mobile Market Program to immediately distribute families in need. They expect to recover over 700,000 pounds of food in the next 90 days.

Vermont Foodbank

The Vermont Foodbank (VF) is Vermont's only food bank and largest hunger-relief organization. During the early phases of the pandemic, VF has distributed about 1.6 million pounds of food, most of which is fresh produce, meat, and dairy provided by local growers and in partnership with the Dairy Farmers of America through VF’s Feeding Vermonters program which helps more than 150,000 individuals. In the next 90 days, they expect to recover and distribute more than 550,000 pounds of food.

White Pony Express

White Pony Express (WPE) has rescued and delivered nearly 800,000 pounds of food since the onset of COVID-19 via their innovative Food Rescue and General Store "Mobile Boutique" efforts. In the next 90 days, WPE expects to distribute 1,800,000 pounds of food to its network of more than 80,000 individuals in need, including food from the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program.

See our Grantees in Action

Priority Solution Focus Areas

Prevention and recovery of fresh and healthy otherwise wasted food, especially at the farm level

Increase the preservation and rescue of food that would otherwise go to waste through new sales markets, donation outlets, or processing techniques.

Elimination of logistical constraints along the entire food supply chain

Increase the coordination and distribution of otherwise wasted food on a more frequent basis and in ways that account for the requirements of particular food types and form factors – as well as leveraging idle, available capacity such as cold storage.

Last-mile delivery — distributing directly to end recipients, especially vulnerable populations facing food insecurity

Increase the delivery of nutritionally-rich food to individuals in a convenient and dignified way.