FAQs
That’s us! We rebranded in step with our 2023 – 2028 Strategic Plan.
Spoonfuls operates routes across the state from Greater Boston, to MetroWest, to Worcester County and Hampden County.
The beauty of Spoonfuls’ model is that it’s scalable – and one of the goals of our 2023-2028 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 both an unmet need for fresh healthy food and funding to sustain our work in the area.
Learn more about the retailers and others we work with to source food and the community organizations that receive Spoonfuls’ deliveries.
No. We partner with retailers like grocery stores, wholesalers, and farms that regularly have a significant amount of food to donate. This ensures efficiency and consistency of Spoonfuls’ operations. 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 that regularly sees more than 100 pounds of good, recoverable food going to waste, we encourage you to reach out to us. If we can’t partner with you ourselves to recover food from your kitchen, 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.
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.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Spoonfuls relies on philanthropic support to sustain our work. 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.
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. If you’re interested in volunteering at a Spoonfuls’ event, 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, or farmers’ market) interested in donating excess or unsold food, reach out to our Operations Team, via our Contact 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 or fundraising for us instead.
Advocacy involves working collaboratively with community members, business leaders, funders, elected officials, and more to engage in and elevate conversations about the impact of wasted food and opportunities to make a difference. It involves participating in and building coalitions, speaking out, raising awareness, and growing interest in and momentum around long term solutions to address wasted food, food insecurity, and the climate emergency. You can learn more and get involved from the Education & Advocacy page of our website.
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, 76% 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.
In both the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the White House’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, 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.