DENVER — Up to 40% of food in the United States is wasted or thrown away, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A new phone app from a Denver-based nonprofit hopes to change that by asking volunteers to help rescue more food.
We Don't Waste is focused on food waste and bringing excess food to communities in need. They normally operate four large box trucks to pick up food donations around Denver, delivering them to nonprofit partners around the metro area.
Historically, the volunteer opportunities for the nonprofit were limited to the mobile food markets, which are large food distributions. But with a new phone app called We Rescue specifically developed for We Don't Waste, they can offer a brand-new volunteer opportunity for people who want to help.
“This opportunity is open to anyone. You can download the We Rescue app from the App Store or Google Play Store and start rescuing food today," volunteer program manager Barona DiNapoli said. "Each rescue only takes about 30 minutes to complete.”
The food rescue organization has created longstanding relationships with food donors, and sometimes people reach out to them with excess food. They work with local restaurants, bakeries, delis and grocery stores to rescue food.
"So we are rescuing all types of food -- prepared food or sometimes fresh produce. So any local business that has excess food they’re looking to donate, we’re hoping to onboard onto our team,” DiNapoli said.
The We Rescue app includes all of the instructions for each food rescue.
"So you really can just use the app on your own, as you have time,” DiNapoli said. "It really is completely reliant on volunteer support, so in order to rescue more food, we really need more volunteers to join our team.”
The nonprofit has only been operating the We Rescue app for about a month, but has already rescued 20,000 pounds of food thanks to volunteers.
The food rescue program works with small businesses, too, like Call Your Mother Deli, which donates its extra bagels left over at the end of the day.
“We try to control how much we have at the end of the day, but we bake our bagels fresh all day long throughout the day and it’s just a shame when you come to the end of the day and we’re not going to be open for another few hours and we’ve got some leftover stuff,” said Chris Sellati, the deli's director of operations. “We love to be able to do the right thing with it, like give it to an organization that can move it to people who can really use it and appreciate it.”
A volunteer named Dana used the app to rescue bagels from Call Your Mother.
“People work really hard to produce food, and to know it’s going to be wasted really bummed me out," she said. "So an opportunity like this for me is just golden. I really enjoy it.”
Jordan Robinson, cofounder of Sox Place, has been serving homeless and at-risk youth and young adults for 22 years.
"We really try to just spread God’s love to the unloved, so we do that through food, amazing donations from We Don’t Waste," Robinson said. "We provide clothing and a place to hang out and be safe and get away.”
He said receiving food rescued through the app makes their jobs easier.
“To have it delivered and brought to us is very helpful,” Robinson said. "We don’t have to go pick it up. We don’t have to go deal with that or I don’t have to go network with people around the city."
We Don't Waste said the volunteer opportunities through the We Rescue app are open to anyone.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS