A Boston Magazine article recently highlighted the work of Food For Free, a Cambridge-based non-profit, collects unused food from farmers’ markets, grocery stores, bakeries, and universities and donates it to food pantries, schools, and individuals in need of healthy food. Sasha Purpura, executive director of Food For Free, says “Our mission is to address hunger by capturing healthy food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it to the emergency food system where it can go to people in need,”  The organization focuses on providing healthy food, not just any food, to people in need, in an attempt to simultaneously address issues of hunger, nutrition and health. One way of doing this is collecting food from farmers markets, which many farmers would prefer to give to people than to compost. The organization also works with larger donors such as Whole Foods and Harvard University.

Food rescue and donation has been increasing since the passing of the Massachusetts Food Waste Ban earlier this year. Purpura feels that the ban is helping incentivize food donation and bring awareness to its importance.

RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts provides resources for businesses to help them find ways to comply with the Food Waste Ban, including food donation. For assistance, please call the RecyclingWorks hotline: (888) 254-5525  or visit our website.