Empty Bowls, Full Trucks & Full Hearts

Empty Bowls

Fall is the time of year when we normally hold our Empty Bowls event. We gather to share a meal and raise funds for Food Rescue’s work, providing nutritious food to neighbors in need and reducing food waste in our community. This year, many things are different, and we cannot meet in person. But we take a moment every day to think about the men, women and children in our community whose bowls are empty, and our mission continues at a ferocious pace. The pandemic has brought many changes to all of us, but people in our region continue to experience food insecurity, and Food Rescue has not missed a beat.

Full Trucks and Full Hearts

This spring, our team reacted quickly to news of the coronavirus, implementing safety protocols to protect our employees, donors and recipients. Without interruption, we continued to pick up and deliver healthy, nutrient-dense food to the food pantries and community meal sites of the Northwest Food Coalition.

In the past year, we have rescued, harvested, repacked, and distributed nearly 2 million pounds of food into our region’s emergency food system, serving a five-county region twice the size of Rhode Island. That's enough food to make 1.6 million meals!

Our strong logistical abilities and distribution system have allowed us to build new partnerships with other agencies working to meet food needs during the pandemic. Together with the Area Agency on Aging, we delivered USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes to seniors in the 10-county area, including a delivery to the Beaver Island airplane hangar.

And working with Groundwork Center's Local Food Relief Fund, we've gotten more fresh produce from local farms onto pantry shelves than ever before. Each week, our incredible volunteers transform thousands of pounds of bulk vegetables and fruits into packages that are easily distributed to families at our area's food pantries. It has been a busy and rewarding year.

Although we are not gathering in person this November to support Food Rescue’s work, we are planning an online bowls auction later this year, perfect for supporting Food Rescue and checking off items on your holiday shopping list at the same time. We send our gratitude to the bowl makers, soup donors, volunteers and auction item donors who have supported us through the years!