Hunger Network Of Greater Cleveland

Our environmentally friendly hunger network's food rescue program experienced continued growth throughout 2024. Food rescue recovers perfectly viable food that is destined for our waste stream and redirects this surplus food to those who face food insecurity in our community. The program utilizes the food rescue hero app technology to connect food donors to nonprofit food recipients through dedicated volunteers who pick up and deliver the food. Food rescue also continued to expand into lake, lorain, geauga, and summit counties. In 2024, we had 592 active volunteers that completed 6,522 rescues, resulting in an estimated 1,291,693 pounds of food rescued, which equates to 1,047,321 meals. Rescuing this food mitigated 1,700,271 pounds of co2 from our atmosphere. Retail value of this rescued food equates to 3,141,963 note on co2 emissions calculation changes in 2024: in 2024, the methodology for calculating co2 emissions was updated to include more detailed data on food waste in landfills. The updated methodology now better accounts for these emissions, providing a more accurate assessment of their impact on climate change