By Jonathan Turner, WHBF, OurQuadCities.com
NEST Café Quad Cities in downtown Rock Island is the newest member of the Food Rescue Partnership.
At the end of the day, many local businesses and organizations do something that makes them stand out from others. Instead of throwing edible food away, they donate it, and Food Rescue recognizes these area businesses and organizations.
“We are proud to showcase the efforts taken by those in the Quad Cities committed to providing much needed food to the food insecure in our community,” Christina McDonough, board chair of the Food Rescue Partnership, said in a Monday release. Those who face hunger in the area are estimated to be 8.9% of the population in Scott County and 10.9% in Rock Island County, she noted.
“Donating excess food is a double win — it feeds those who are hungry and helps reduce the amount of food waste being sent to the landfill,” McDonough said.
The program originally launched in 2016 and now more than 20 local food establishments have earned the title of “Member of Food Rescue.” NEST Café (1524 4th Ave., Rock Island) most recently earned the title for their efforts to Nourish Everyone Sustainably Together (NEST) through a pay-what-you-can model for local sourced food, food donation, animal feed, and composting
A recognition ceremony to officially welcome NEST Café as a member of Food Rescue was held Tuesday, July 19th at NEST Café. The program is available to any QC business or organization that regularly donates food to a local non-profit hunger relief agency including restaurants, schools, grocery stores, business cafeterias, hospitals, etc.
The Food Rescue Partnership wants to make sure food gets to people, so the partnership started recognizing businesses and organizations already taking part in food rescue and helps make connections for those interested in starting, the organization said Monday.
There is no cost to become a member in Food Rescue. Established in 2013, Food Rescue Partnership is a community-led coalition with a vision to make the QC a community dedicated to eliminating food waste, by promoting to rescue food for its best possible use.
Through collaborative efforts, Food Rescue Partnership has diverted over 53,700 pounds of food from the landfill by connecting professional food establishments and one-time event coordinators to donate access edible food to local non-profit hunger-relief agencies or compost operations.
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