Melrose Food Rescue Nonprofit Donates Half A Million Pounds Of Food

MELROSE, MA – The Food Drive, a community-driven food rescue nonprofit based in Melrose, has distributed 500,000 pounds of food since their inception in November 2020.

“In three words, we drive food,” Jana Gimenez, Executive Director and Co-Founder said in a news release. “We provide the missing link between available food and people who need it, and we’ve been able to do this work because of the over 150 local volunteers who offer their time and hands and hearts and wheels to help feed our neighbors.”

The Food Drive serves Melrose and surrounding communities of Everett, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Reading, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Woburn to connect food with people, providing grassroots, hyperlocal solutions to hunger and food waste.

The food rescue nonprofit uses its volunteer network to recover good food that would otherwise be thrown away by local businesses and community organizations and delivers that food to thousands of people in the community dealing with food insecurity.

Half a million pounds distributed translates to 435,000 meals, $865,000 in value, and 1.2 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions prevented, the nonprofit said.

In addition to food rescue, The Food Drive coordinates ongoing community Food Donation Bins, targeted Neighborhood Food Drives, Free Meals from the Melrose Community Freezer in partnership with First United Methodist Church of Melrose, and a weekly volunteer program for Post Graduate students in the Melrose High School Special Education Department.

For information about The Food Drive’s work, visit their website.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness in our local communities of hunger, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 local meals programs across the country, estimates that nearly 34 million people, including 9 million children — about 1 in 6 Americans — are living with food insecurity. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.