UPDATE: New partnership with Pinellas County Schools (PCS) announced December 2021 which allows all school cafeterias to donate leftover food through WNF app. We are currently looking for local non-profit organizations/churches/food pantries to receive this leftover food when available. This program is free for registered 501c3 non-profits to participate and it is very user-friendly. For example, whenever PCS has excess food that they would like to donate to a local non-profit, they would enter this information into the Waste No Food app, including a description of the food, quantity, and when/where to pick it up. Registered non-profits, like your organization, can then login to the app to view and claim the posted donation of food. Although, before claiming the donation, your organization will need to decide if it has the capacity to pick up and redistribute the excess food to the people you serve. Once you claim a donation, you can follow the directions for pick up. The donor’s contact information will also be available if you have additional questions.
What is Waste No Food Tampa Bay?
In the Tampa Bay Area, one in seven people is food insecure, and that number is higher among children and the elderly. But we produce enough food in this country to feed every American – we just waste almost half of what we produce. We need to reduce the amount of food that is thrown out and redirect it to those who need it.
Founded with these goals in mind, Waste No Food Tampa Bay is a partnership between Waste No Food, a non-profit organization founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by Kiran Sridhar, and the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger, a three-county network with the goal of building a hunger-free community with access to nutritious food for all.
How does Waste No Food Tampa Bay work?
Waste No Food Tampa Bay is an expansion of Waste No Food, an app based program that has been proven successful in the San Francisco Bay Area and in other locations. They have served over one million meals, consisting entirely of donated excess food. Their partners include Levi’s Stadium, the City of San Jose’s Mayor’s Office, PayPal, and the San Francisco 49ers. The mobile app platform is fully scalable and they have offered it to the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger at no cost and with full technological support.
Waste No Food is a web-based and mobile marketplace allowing excess food to be donated from the food service industry to qualified charities that work with the needy. It consists of a web app and a mobile app that allow farms, restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, and grocery stores to post excess food in real time. Local charities and nonprofit organizations can see what is available near them and claim the food online or on the app, then arrange transportation and food handling with the donor. It requires no advance planning other than downloading and signing up for the app, which is free for all to use. One unique aspect of this program is that agencies don’t need to use it regularly. Some organizations/food pantries/churches sign up and use it weekly, while others use it as a backup if their regular supply of food was depleted or delayed.
How does Waste No Food Tampa Bay benefit donors?
Using the Waste No Food app benefits donors with excess food in at least three ways. First, every charity has been thoroughly vetted by the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger to ensure that it is a 501c(3) nonprofit that truly assists the needy, can safely store and distribute the food it claims, and has drivers who are trained in food handling safety and will be available to pick up the food. Second, the donors are protected against liability by both federal and state law: the federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act protects donors
from being held liable for problems caused by food they donate in good faith to charities, as does Florida law, via the the Jack Davis Florida Restaurant Lend a Helping Hand Act of 2008. Third, the Waste No Food app tracks the food each donor posts in order to facilitate tax deductions. And as a bonus, the donors can have the satisfaction of knowing that instead of throwing out perfectly good food (and paying for that disposal), they are instead providing quality food for hungry people.
How does Waste No Food Tampa Bay benefit charities?
The obvious benefit to the Waste No Food Tampa Bay recipients is that they can claim food, which might otherwise have been thrown out, and distribute it to their clients, who might otherwise have gone hungry. The food, like the app, is free. The charities can use the money they might have otherwise spent on food for case management or other operational necessities.
How do I get involved?
We invite you to join the Waste No Food movement today! Businesses (restaurants, grocery stores, markets, food banks, food pantries, etc.) and individuals are encouraged to sign up as a donor or recipient of excess food or food waste now on the Waste No Food app.
I would like to divert food surplus from the waste system by DONATING excess food for redistribution or food scraps for compost through Waste No Food Tampa Bay.
I would like to divert food surplus from the waste system by RECEIVING food scraps for compost and/or excess food for redistribution to non-profits through Waste No Food Tampa Bay.
I would like to support Waste No Food Tampa Bay by DONATING. My financial gift will support efforts to divert food from the waste system through redistribution of food to non-profits and scraps to compost.