New Erie nonprofit 'rescues' unused food and delivers it to those in need

Three times a week, Sunshine Ferguson wheels out a cart filled with leftover food from the LECOM Senior Living Center.

Monday's cart held covered aluminum platters filled with stuffing, turkey and pulled pork, along with loaves of cinnamon raisin bread, and containers of milk, juice and supplemental drinks. It all was food not consumed over the weekend by the center's residents and nearing its expiration times or dates.

"Before, all this would have gone right in the trash and it would break my heart wasting good food," said Ferguson, the center's dietary manager. "It's not a huge amount, but I knew someone could use it."

Instead of going in a dumpster, now the center's extra food is transported to Community Shelter Services or another nonprofit agency that feeds people in need. Volunteers with Lake Erie Food Rescue pick up the food and deliver it within an hour to where it will be consumed.

Helping the hungry

Lake Erie Food Rescue was launched just more than a year ago by Kevin McCaslin and Jeff Kuzdzal but was spurred originally by what McCaslin saw when he worked years ago for a local supermarket.

"I saw how much food is wasted every day," McCaslin said. "It really stuck with me. I thought that there had to be a way to get that food to people who could use it."

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One day, McCaslin was scrolling on social media when he noticed a pop-up ad from 412 Food Rescue, which transports excess food in the Pittsburgh area. Intrigued, he reached out to the organization to see if he could bring the service to Erie.

He visited 412 Food Rescue in late 2020 to learn how it conducts business and raises money to cover costs. He and Kuzdzal then created Lake Erie Food Rescue and joined the Food Rescue Hero Network, which includes 13 other organizations in the United States and Canada.

"I learned there are three basic parts: the food donors, the volunteers and the agencies that receive food," McCaslin said.

McCaslin personally went to nursing homes, colleges, restaurants and grocery stores to see if they would be willing to donate their unused food. In addition to LECOM Senior Living Center, Mercyhurst University/Parkhurst Food Services also is one of the initial donors.

He then reached out to agencies that provide free meals and found out if they needed more food. The final piece was volunteers — McCaslin was a primary food transporter for most of the past year.

"We now have five volunteers who are making runs," McCaslin said. "We will need more as we grow. Our goal is to do about 20 runs a week."

McCaslin and Kuzdzal recently launched an app, the Food Rescue Hero App, to help streamline the food transportation process. Volunteers are notified when food is available for pick-up and can swipe to claim the transport.

How to take part

Organizations that want to donate or receive food, or people who want to donate money, can reach McCaslin at lakeeriefoodrescue.org.

Community Shelter Services, 655 W. 16th St., receives a shipment from Lake Erie Food Rescue at least once a week, said Katie Confer, the agency's development director. It allows their staff to provide clients with a fourth meal or snack in the afternoon.

"Lake Erie Food Rescue is very consistent and very generous in what they are able to provide us," Confer said. "This helps us to provide a meal or snack to people after school or work."

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Lake Erie Food Rescue isn't the first Erie-based organization to accept excess food and transport it to people in need. Second Harvest Food Bank has been providing a similar service for 40 years. Though both organizations have sought food from the same donors, McCaslin said he isn't competing with Second Harvest.

"I'd say we are complementary, not competitive," McCaslin said. "I can tell you that there is a greater need for this service than there was even five years ago."

In an email, Second Harvest spokeswoman Natalie Massing declined to discuss Lake Erie Food Rescue because "we are not affiliated with them. We can only tell you what Second Harvest does. When it comes to feeding the hungry, we hope that everyone in our community gets involved to make our community a better place."

McCaslin said there is plenty of need and extra food for both his nonprofit and Second Harvest. He cited data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that between 30% and 40% of the country's food supply is wasted.

"What we are doing is trying to fill the cracks," McCaslin said. "We are taking this food that would otherwise be thrown out, and get it to people who could use it."

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Lake Erie Food Rescue works to eliminate food waste, hunger