Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue

• The uncertainty of not knowing where one’s next meal will come from is a reality in the greater Omaha area.
• One in 7 people in Douglas County struggle with food insecurity.
• The Environmental Protection Agency estimates more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash.

Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue believes it just makes sense to feed the hungry with excess perishable food that would otherwise be wasted. And that’s what we have been doing since October 2013. Our grassroots efforts began with three food donors, and the food we picked up from them was delivered to three local food pantries. By the end of 2016, our food donor network had expanded to 28 grocery stores, wholesalers, event venues, caterers, restaurants, schools and other food purveyors.

Using refrigerated trucks, our professional drivers/food handlers pick up the donated dairy products, fruits and vegetables, prepared and packaged meals, meats and other healthy foods and deliver them the same day, free of charge, to local nonprofits that feed the hungry. By the end of 2016, we were partnering with 23 local shelters, food pantries, senior citizen centers, after-school programs, transitional living facilities and other nonprofit agencies.

From October 2013 through the end of 2016, we rescued and distributed 1.3 million pounds of perishable food.