Driver swoops in to ‘rescue’ food, help feed needy
Cindy Atoji-Keene
April 19, 2015
Boston Globe
Rachel Garside doesn’t wear a hero’s cape, but she is involved in daily rescue — of perfectly good food headed for the Dumpster. Garside, a truck driver for the Boston food rescue network Lovin’ Spoonfuls, picks up boxes of fresh produce, dairy products, and other food that would otherwise get thrown out and hauls them to community programs that feed the hungry. She spoke to Globe correspondent Cindy Atoji Keene.
“I’ve always known there was excess food — the statistics say that 40 percent of food produced in the United States goes to waste. Still, I started working at Lovin’ Spoonfuls and saw with my own eyes the stacks and stacks of food that would just be dumped.
“On a typical day, I deliver to soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, and other agencies to help feed hundreds of thousands. I might fill my box truck with three cases of leafy greens, two cases of cabbage, one case of tomatoes and grapes, three cases of frozen meats, three cases of cut vegetables, one case of apples, nine bags of bread, four bags of pastries, two boxes of grocery items. Today, I am delivering to a crisis center for women and children.
“This job has changed the way I consume food. I try to buy only what I will use. Another bonus: It’s amazing how much stronger I feel. I would say I lift between one thousand and fifteen hundred pounds over the course of one day. And it is all going to organizations that serve people in need.”