athensmessenger.comAs a gardener, Teresa Curtiss of Athens hates to see food go to waste.
So when she was seeking a way to get involved in the community, it’s natural that she’d end up doing something food-related. She volunteered a few times at Community Food Initiates, and donated food (including from her garden) to the Athens Food Pantry.
“I had been looking for a way to volunteer in the community,” she recalled.
Then she saw an article about a food rescue operation in California. Food rescue involves collecting leftover food from restaurants and businesses and distributing it to those in need.
“No one was doing this exact work (in Athens),” she said, so in December of 2014 she began collecting food at Bob Evan’s Restaurant and Chipotle and distributing it. Before long, others got involved — including Adele Hanson, Sue Jago and Nanda Filkin, who are on the board of what is now called Athens Food Rescue.
In July, Athens Food Rescue gained its nonprofit status. About 10 volunteers now help with the effort.
Hanson, who is retired from the Athens City-County Health Department, said she first learned what Curtiss had in mind when Curtiss stopped by the health department.
“Teresa came with this idea and she wanted to check with the health department to see if it was OK,” according to Hanson, who said she (Hanson) liked what she heard and decided to participate after she retired.
Hanson said her own interest in hunger dates back about 20 years ago when the principal of The Plains Elementary School told her of the issue of hunger in the area.
“I’ve just been interested in solving the hunger problem ever since,” Hanson said.
Athens Food Rescue collects food from the Athens Country Club, Bob Evans, Chipotle, Texas Roadhouse, Witten Farm Market, Zoe’s and two other locations.
Texas Roadhouse also held a fundraiser for the program in November, and financial donations have been received from The Athens Foundation, Athens AM Rotary and Quidel Corp.
When Texas Roadhouse has leftover food — such as green beans, rolls and mashed potatoes — the choice is either to throw it away, or donate it.
“By our standards, we can’t use it the next day,” said Deedra Semones, managing partner at the Athens restaurant. So, the choice was made to donate the food.
“It’s going to help the needy, and that’s a good thing,” Semones said.
Athens Food Rescue does not store the collected food, but instead immediately delivers it. Curtiss said volunteers are trained in safe food handling practices.
So far, food has been delivered to My Sister’s Place, Athens Church of Christ, Clem House, the Respite Center, Rural Women’s Recovery Program, The Gathering Place, Timothy House and United Campus Ministry.
Since the beginning of 2015, the program has distributed more than 7,000 pounds of food, according to Curtiss.
Athens Food Rescue keeps track of where it picks up food, how much is picked up and where it was delivered. Curtiss said quarterly thank-you letters are sent to donors telling them how much they donated and to whom it went.
“We are working to get more donors,” said Curtiss, who hopes to expand the program.
Athens Food Rescue has a Go Fund Me page (www.gofundme.com) that so far has raised $745 toward a $5,000 goal.
Curtiss said funding is needed for equipment (such as coolers), outreach materials and to help with insurance costs, and the organization would like to provide gasoline cards to its volunteers. She said a “pie in the sky” wish is for Athens Food Rescue to have its own vehicle.
Source: AthensMessenger. com
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