Food Diversion
We rescue approximately 1200 pounds of food each week that goes to help 300 people.
Green Beverly kicked off its Food Diversion Project with the first pick up on Sunday October 30, 2022 rescuing food from Whole Foods. We added Thur/Fri pickups at Shaws in late summer 2023. Each pick up can be from 250 to 700 pounds! That is anywhere from 5 to 15 boxes of each produce and bakery and a few boxes of prepared foods.
The food that Green Beverly is rescuing is going to two Beverly YMCA affordable housing buildings, Beverly Bootstraps, The Salem Pantry, Ellis Square Friends, Will House, and Life Bridge. Additionally, food is going to First Parish Church and First Baptist Church to help them with their weekly meals they provide for the community. (Did you know there is a meal available every day in Beverly? Click here for more information.) We are not the only organization rescuing food in Beverly- we are gleaning behind Bootstraps and the Salem Pantry.
In 2023 Green Beverly moved approximately 35,000 pounds of food and approximately 1000 pounds of non-food items. The average pick up was 400 pounds. Over the year, Green Beverly did 88 pickups with 18 volunteers!
What is Food Rescue? Every day our supermarkets take food off their shelves that is past its prime but still fine to eat. Additionally, there are items that are not in season anymore or just extra and a store does not want to keep. A food rescue operation takes that food and gets it to those that are food insecure.
What is Food Diversion? At the worst case, Green Beverly is “diverting” food from the trash. When a store can not donate its excess, for whatever reason, they are hopefully choosing a route other than the trash. This chart on the EPA site shows other ways a supermarket can get rid of its excess food. But ideally, as seen on the chart, perfectly fine expired or excess food is diverted and donated, making its way to the food insecure; which is Green Beverly’s Food Diversion mission.
Green Beverly is thankful to be partnering with these groups on this initiative - keeping food out of the trash and getting it to those in need!
More Resources on Food Waste:
How much food are we wasting?
To help with this program, and others that Green Beverly offers: