Atlanta Food Rescue Organization’s Results Increase Significantly Over Last Year
On October 21, Mara Lapp, one of Second Helpings Atlanta’s 375+ volunteer drivers, delivered the one-millionth meal collected by SHA this year. SHA is the non-profit food rescue organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the metropolitan Atlanta area by rescuing surplus, nutritious food, and delivering it to its network of Partner Agencies who feed the hungry every day.
Millionth Meal Milestone
Mara, a resident of Sandy Springs who has been volunteering with SHA since 2015, rescued the millionth meal from Trader Joe’s in Sandy Springs and delivered it with a trunk full of food items to Community Assistance Center. “It’s really satisfying and really easy to be part of Second Helpings Atlanta’s mission, even if you have just a little time to spare.”
“We hit this millionth meal milestone five weeks ahead of schedule,” notes Joe Labriola, SHA’s Executive Director. “Drivers use their own vehicles and are matched with routes that allow them to drive to a Food Donor’s location, pick up surplus food, transport and deliver it to a Partner Agency – and return back home or to their place of work in 90 minutes or less.
“Second Helpings Atlanta’s current food rescue network includes 71 Food Donors and 46 Partner Agencies,” Labriola continues. “All food is donated free of charge, enabling participating Partner Agencies to redirect money previously spent on groceries to core services. Currently, we are able to help provide meals for more than 4,300 people every day.”
SHA is on track to rescue 1.5 million pounds of (mostly perishable) foods from grocery chains, large retailers, corporate dining rooms, school cafeterias, restaurants and farmers markets by the end of 2017, enough for some 1,250,000 meals.
To learn more about becoming a Food Donor or Partner Agency, or to join Second Helpings Atlanta’s volunteer drivers, please visit www.secondhelpingsatlanta.org.
Second Helpings Atlanta: “Driving Out Hunger, One Mile at a Time.”
Second Helpings Atlanta, Inc. (SHA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit food rescue organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the metropolitan Atlanta area by rescuing surplus food and delivering it to those in need. With more than 375 volunteer drivers, SHA serves as the link between its network of 71 Food Donors and the 46 Partner Agencies they work with who feed the hungry on a daily basis.
