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An east-coast nonprofit has developed a way to make sure food headed for the trash is put in the people’s hands of those who need it. 

Food Waste

One person generates 247 pounds of waste in the state, this is according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. It was the amount they got rid of that caught the attention of QC Catering CEO Andrew Matroni.

The Charlotte organization has prepared and delivered many amounts of across the city for the last ten years.

Donating such privileges can be difficult believe it or not. Particularly, when you have to get it out in a very specific time window, he said.

Food: Unused Nutritional Goods

There is a need and Kim Aprill found a way to help. Aprill works for the nonprofit called Feeding Charlotte. They work to rescue unused nutritional goods and then get them into the hands of those who do need it.

“Forty percent of all food produced in the United States goes to waste and prior to the pandemic, one-third of all families with children in Mecklenburg County were ‘very insecure’ and that number has only gone up during the pandemic,” said Aprill.

Feeding Charlotte App

In November, Feeding Charlotte launched a food rescue app. Like businesses, QC Catering box up all their leftovers, where volunteers are waiting to pick it up. Then, deliver them to those in need. Moreover, they work with Food Rescue US it in fact allows them to use their software to launch the app.

There is a misconception that it is really easy to donate a large amount of food. Yet it really isn’t because it is perishable. Therefore, you need to get it into the hands of people that need it quickly, said Matroni.

Volunteering to pick up for weeks and loving seeing how this simple change is making a significant difference is Amy Dong has been doing.

Feeding Charlotte Website Information

Feeding Charlotte presently works with 12 food donor partners to distribute food throughout the city. They are always looking for more partners. If you are interested in helping out or volunteering to pick up and deliver it, you can find more information here.