Fighting Wasted Food with Whole Foods Market and Brewer's Foods
“When good food winds up in a landfill, it’s a missed opportunity at best,” said Lovin’ Spoonfuls COO, Lauren Palumbo. “That food loses its value. It’s not feeding anybody – and it could have.”
With 35% of the food produced in the U.S. going unsold or uneaten and 42 million Americans struggling with hunger according to the latest stats available from ReFED and Feeding America respectively, Spoonfuls is on a mission to prevent wasted food. Food Rescue Coordinators recover upwards of 83,000 lbs. per week (the equivalent of 66,000 meals’ worth of perishable food) that would otherwise go to waste from grocery stores, wholesalers, farms, and farmers’ markets across Massachusetts. It’s distributed, same day, to nonprofits that feed people facing food insecurity.
“The pandemic turned a spotlight on food insecurity. More people were talking about it because more people were impacted by it. But what few people were saying was that, the whole time, there was enough food to go around. Hunger wasn’t and isn’t a problem of supply. It’s a problem of distribution and access,” said Palumbo. “Across eight routes from Greater Boston to Hampden County, we partner with food vendors and nonprofits to get good food from where it is to those who need it.”
Among Spoonfuls’ vendor partners are 17 Whole Foods Market locations in the Greater Boston region. The national grocer also donated a refrigerated van to Spoonfuls’ fleet last year as part of its Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program. Additionally, Whole Foods Market is collaborating with Brewer’s Foods, an upcycled cracker company, to benefit Lovin’ Spoonfuls. From September 8 – 28, Whole Foods Market will match all purchases of Brewer’s Foods Pita Chips made with upcycled grains at participating Whole Foods Market locations, to be donated to Lovin’ Spoonfuls.
“Living our core value of caring for our communities is a task that we take seriously, year-round, at Whole Foods Market,” said Jean-Philippe Scioville, Senior In-Store & Local Marketing Specialist at Whole Foods Market North Atlantic Region. “We’re proud to work alongside brands that value tackling food waste, like Brewer’s Foods, to continue dedicating efforts to feeding our neighbors and supporting Lovin’ Spoonfuls.”
Snag a bag (or bags!) of Brewer’s Foods Pita Chips at one of the participating locations below now through September 28, and support Lovin’ Spoonfuls in the process! Come say hello or learn a little more about us. We’ll be making stops at the South End, Sudbury, and Wellesley stores.
Participating Whole Foods Market Locations:
- Bedford: 170 Great Road
- Bellingham: 255 Hartford Avenue
- Brighton: 15 Washington Street
- Brookline: 1028 Beacon Street
- Cambridge: 340 River Street
- Charles River Plaza: 181 Cambridge Street
- Charlestown: 27 Austin Street
- Dedham: 300 Legacy Place
- Framingham: 575 Worcester Road
- Melrose: 880 Main Street
- Newton: 916 Walnut Street
- Newtonville: 647 Washington Street
- South End: 348 Harrison Avenue
- Sudbury: 536 Boston Post Road (Lovin’ Spoonfuls tabeling, 9/17 3 – 6 PM)
- Symphony: 15 Westland Avenue
- Wellesley: 442 Washington Street (Lovin’ Spoonfuls tabeling, 9/24 3 – 6 PM)
- Woburn: 400 Cambridge Road