“Rethink Food,” says group feeding hungry New Yorkers with restaurant waste

Rethink Food, a group which distributes excess food from restaurants and businesses to New Yorkers, wants to reduce food waste and tackle hunger.

“We hope our example can show that it’s not just possible, but totally feasible to achieve a more just and equitable food system,” co-founder and CEO Matt Jozwiak told Newsweek.

Across the U.S., 38 million people lack reliable access to nutritious meals, but 42 percent of the nation’s food supply goes uneaten, according to Rethink Food’s website.

So, the nonprofit works with a variety of organizations to fight for systemic change, and help feed communities in need.

Since Jozwiak founded Rethink Food in 2017 with his friend Daniel Humm, the project has prepared and distributed more than 26 million meals and saved more than 2.5 million pounds of food waste—but the project has changed over the years.

“Initially, our mission was to transform surplus food from restaurants, grocery stores, and other food vendors into nutritious meals for communities in need,” he said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point for the food industry as a whole; we were no exception. As restaurants closed and unemployment rates soared, food insecurity grew.

“Rethink Food pivoted its model to support both struggling restaurants and food-insecure communities; we began purchasing meals directly from local restaurants to distribute to people in need.

“This initiative, known as the Rethink Certified program, helped restaurants to keep their staff employed while simultaneously addressing food insecurity.”

At the same time, Jozwiak said Rethink Food began working not just with restaurants, but community-based organizations, food banks and other nonprofits too, to ensure meals reached the most vulnerable.

It also developed a grant program to help restaurants rehire staff and provide meals at affordable prices.

In 2023, Rethink Food also began feeding migrants as part of its efforts to tackle food insecurity in New York.

“We established Rethink Services as a division of Rethink Food in 2023 to handle partnerships and contracts with government agencies and other nonprofits,” said Jozwiak.

“Following the dissolution of the contract with a previous meal provider, we began providing meals to asylum seekers and migrants in various shelters around the city. Like everyone else experiencing food insecurity, they deserve to be fed.”

Every week, Rethink Food’s partner vendors deliver the organization almost 12,000 pounds of excess food, from stores such as Whole Foods and restaurants inside Chelsea Market.

“We also partner with an extensive network of local restaurants and food businesses, 80 percent of which are minority- or women-owned or led,” said Jozwiak.

For example, Rethink Food works with Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant with three Michelin stars; 5ive Spice, a Vietnamese restaurant in Brooklyn; and Adda, an Indian restaurant in Queens.

Rethink Food’s vans collect donated food throughout the morning from these restaurants and vendors, Jozwiak explained, before dropping it off at the nonprofit’s kitchen.

Then, the organization’s culinary team takes stock of these ingredients, creates a menu, and prepares meals for delivery—made in the style of family cooking, but by chefs.

“We take great care to make sure the meals at our Sustainable Community Kitchen are delicious, nutritious, and made with love, as are the meals made at our partner restaurants,” said Jozwiak.

“Everyone, including people experiencing food insecurity, deserves to eat awesome, fulfilling food.”

That’s when the distribution team gets involved, delivering the finished meals to community partners, who then distribute them to people experiencing food insecurity.

“Our community-based organization partners are paramount, as they are the ones on the front lines distributing the meals to people in need,” said Jozwiak.

“We’ve delivered meals to Children’s Aid, a child welfare nonprofit, the Food Education Fund, and the Sylvia Rivera Food Pantry, just to name a few.”

The organization is based in New York City, and the New York area is where most of its efforts take place, but Rethink Food has delivered meals in Chicago; Nashville, Tennessee; San Francisco; Washington D.C. and Miami.

“In 2021, we began distributing meals in Miami, Florida, where 10 percent of the people experience food insecurity,” said Jozwiak.

“Through a partnership with The Genuine Hospitality Group, we’ve distributed 243,000 meals and donated over $1 million to small local restaurants and food businesses to prepare community meals.”

There are multiple routes for getting involved with Rethink Food, and Jozwiak said: “We welcome involvement in many shapes and forms!”

Anyone can volunteer—at the kitchen, at a partner organization, or helping out at New York City schools.

Restaurants and food businesses can donate their excess food, help the organization prepare meals, or host an event with the nonprofit.

Alternatively, community organizations can join Rethink Food as meal recipient partners, distributing its food to the people they serve.

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