FAQs
That’s us! We rebranded to Spoonfuls in step with our Strategic Plan.
Spoonfuls operates across the state including: Greater Boston, MetroWest, Worcester County, Hampden County, and – coming this fall! – a new route in Southeastern Massachusetts.
The beauty of Spoonfuls’ model is that it’s scalable – and one of the goals of our Strategic Plan is intentional expansion to communities that could benefit from increased food recovery. Before expanding, our team connects with regional stakeholders (like other food assistance organizations, funders, and more) to explore whether there is an unmet need for fresh healthy food, food available to be recovered, and funding to sustain our work in the area.
We are slated to launch a new route in Southeastern Massachusetts in fall 2025 to serve Bristol County, Brockton, and Bridgewater.
Learn more about the food retailers and brands we work with to source food and the community-based organizations that receive Spoonfuls’ deliveries.
No, not usually. Primarily, we partner with food retailers like grocery stores, wholesalers, cafeterias, and farms that regularly have a significant amount of food to donate. This ensures efficiency and consistency of Spoonfuls’ food recovery program. Restaurants and catering companies tend to order very near the amount of food they think they can use up (which is a good thing); this means there’s little for us to recover. If, however, you work for a commercial kitchen (including places like hospital, university, or corporate cafeterias) that regularly sees more than 100 pounds of good, recoverable food, including prepared food, getting composted or tossed, we encourage you to reach out to us. If we can’t partner with you ourselves to recover food, we may be able to point you to an organization that can.
And what about what’s left over on people’s plates when they haven’t finished their meals? Where does all that go? That’s considered “plate waste,” and – as a matter of food safety and dignity – it’s not something we can recover or distribute.
Our model is built on partnerships with food retailers and brands and consistent pick-ups along planned routes. This ensures we’re reliably recovering food to meet the needs of the food programs that receive our deliveries.
However, pending availability in our schedule, our team also entertains off-schedule pick-ups. We prioritize those that: involve more sizable donations, meet our food safety guidelines, and for which we have identified organizations in our network to make good use of whatever food is donated.
By way of a couple of examples: We stepped in to recover food when a grocery store’s freezers went down on a hot day. Another time, we were involved when a manufacturing defect (a little less soy sauce than a brand’s recipe called for) made it so thousands of frozen dumplings were no longer sellable but still good to eat. And still another time, we recovered nutrition drinks from a doctor’s office that received an unexpectedly large shipment.
Our advice: If you have good, recoverable food you’d like to donate to Spoonfuls, reach out to our team to discuss.
Of course. A partnership with Feeding America or a member food bank does not preclude you from working with us, too! In fact, we have our own partnerships with Feeding America member food banks as a trusted food recovery provider. We have a mutual interest in ensuring good food reaches people who need it now. Plus, just like food banks, we’re accustomed to working with our partners to satisfy data collection and reporting requirements.
We do. Invite us to speak to your class, community group, or company.
Check out our Media Kit. Then reach out to our Communications Team via our Contact Form or by phone at 617-390-4450.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Spoonfuls is 100% philanthropically funded. Your donations are the reason we’re able to do what we do. Every $1 we raise enables our team to pick up and distribute one pound of food – and 87% of every $1 you give goes directly to support program operations.
Plus, as a Candid Platinum and Charity Navigator 4-star nonprofit (the highest ratings available by each), you can feel confident knowing your dollars are put to good use here.
Check out our Donate page and, if you don’t find the information you’re looking for, reach out to our Development Team via our Contact Form or by phone at 617-390-4450.
Absolutely! Learn about getting your business involved. And, feel free to reach out to our Development Team via our Contact Form or by phone at 617-390-4450.
Spoonfuls doesn’t use volunteers to do the day-to-day work of food recovery. (A hallmark of our model is the use of professional staff, who are trained in food handling and safety and who develop strong, working relationships with the food retail and community partners in the region where they work.) However, at points throughout the year, we do look for volunteers to assist with our events – especially our Ultimate Tailgate celebration, which is our biggest fundraiser of the year, held each fall. And we invite participation by corporate and community groups in project-based opportunities. If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to our Development Team via our Contact Form or by phone at 617-390-4450.
If you’re a food retailer (someone who represents a grocery store, wholesaler, farm, farmers’ market, or school/hospital/corporate cafeteria) interested in donating excess or unsold food, reach out to our Programs Team, via our Donor Inquiry Form or by calling 617-390-4450, to discuss. Note that we don’t accept food donations from individuals or families. If you’re an individual or family looking to support our work, we recommend making a gift, fundraising for us, or getting involved with our advocacy work.
Spoonfuls takes food safety as seriously as you do. With a ServSafe-certified food recovery team and a fleet of refrigerated vehicles for transporting food at the proper temperature, our team is committed to ensuring the food we deliver is safe for consumption.
In addition, there are federal and state laws (The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act and The Massachusetts Good Samaritan Act, respectively) protecting good faith food donors from liability related to food donations. Learn more about federal protections from the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic’s Legal Fact Sheet. With specific questions, contact your attorney.
Advocacy is about working collaboratively with community members, business leaders, funders, elected officials, and others to build awareness of and support for policy and other longer term solutions to issues like wasted food, food insecurity, and the climate emergency. Check out our Advocacy & Action page to learn more and get involved..
It’s intercepting food when it’s still good to eat and working to ensure that it doesn’t go to waste. In Spoonfuls’ case, we partner primarily with food retailers (like grocery stores, wholesalers, farms, and farmers’ markets) to source unsold perishable food, picking up and delivering that food within the same day to community organizations that serve people facing food insecurity.
Yes, the terms are often used interchangeably.
For a few reasons: First, fresh foods (like fruits and veggies, dairy, and meat) are some of the most expensive and out-of-reach for neighbors facing food insecurity. Plus, with food banks offering more shelf-stable products, community organizations benefit from Spoonfuls as a source of fresh food to round out their offerings to end-recipients. What else? As an organization committed to reducing waste, Spoonfuls focuses on fresh, perishable food because it’s among the most often wasted! In fact, 80% of wasted food in landfills is perishable food – and much of it, had it been recovered while it was still good to eat, could have fed people instead.
Importantly, this doesn’t mean we don’t recover other kinds of food, just that we take special care to recover as much fresh, wholesome food as possible.
In both the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the 2024 White House Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, food recovery is cited as an important tool we have to keep good food from going to waste while, at the same time, tackling hunger and the climate emergency and benefiting the local economy by keeping the value in food. Learn more on our Impact page.