Melissa Speisman

Melissa has over 25 years as a hospitality and nutrition professional and has combined this experience with her passion for ending hunger and food waste to help develop innovative food recovery solutions. In 2011, Melissa joined Food Rescue US, then known as Community Plates, and now serves as their VP, National Site Director. She has helped to expand the organization nationally and has launched 25 site locations in 17 States and the District of Columbia, where the Food Rescue US dedicated Site Directors and volunteer food rescuers have rescued and delivered over 39 million meals and kept 52 million pounds of food waste out of landfills. Melissa supports each individual location in their day to day operations and helps them develop strategic partnerships to increase their impact on the communities they serve. With a goal of expanding to all 50 states over the next 3-5 years, she meets with individuals and organizations daily to launch new Food Rescue US affiliates. Melissa is also spearheading the launch of V3 of the Food Rescue US proprietary software which will launch later this Spring. Melissa and Food Rescue US have developed emergency programs to respond to the increased need at this time and have launched a COVID-19 Response Fund.