Contact:
Phone: 402-913-6776
Email: info@savinggracefoodrescue.org
Add Food Donation in the subject line.
Food Donations & Criteria
Do you know of a food business that has surplus perishable food – produce, dairy products, meats, healthy grains, prepared foods and more? We encourage food vendors to partner with Saving Grace to reduce wasted food and give more people access to good nutrition. We provide a professional and reliable service to both regularly scheduled and on-call food donors. Partnering with us makes good business sense. Our food donors are eligible for a tax credit, save on dumpster fees and support their sustainability plan – plus, giving food to those in need is a great employee engagement tool and way to give back to the community.
Criteria for Food Donations:
• Food to feed a minimum of 20-25 people, in order to curb our truck expenses.
• Excess food must have been properly maintained (refrigerated or frozen) and held in the kitchen without being served due to health regulations. We do not accept food that has been opened to the public. Please consider using smaller serving trays so we can rescue more of your excess food.
• Please give us as much advance notice as possible. We do not warehouse food; it is delivered the same day we receive it. Our pick-up schedules are made during the early morning hours with deliveries to our local non-profits feeding our hungry neighbors that afternoon.
• If you have an evening function where there may be excess food, please make arrangements to refrigerate the food overnight; we will collect it the following weekday morning.
• We do not accept food donations in our office as we are a food distributor and do not warehouse food.
Business Reasons to Donate Food
Support Our Community
- Nourish people – food that would otherwise go to waste instead benefits
clients from over 45 food recipient agencies. In the Omaha-Council Bluffs
metro area, over 108,000 people are food insecure, yet 38% of food
produced goes unsold or uneaten. - Nurture the planet – food in the landfill creates methane, a potent
greenhouse gas, as it decomposes. Food that is not eaten also wastes all
the resources that went into producing and distributing it. Keeping food out
of landfills helps to create a healthier community for all.
Engage Employees
- No one wants to waste food – especially people who work in the food
industry. Donating your excess food to organizations serving people in
need can lead to higher employee engagement and retention because of
your commitment to the community.
Save Money
- Not only is our food rescue service free, but your food donation may
qualify as a tax deduction, and you’ll save on dumpster or composting
fees.
Display Your Values
- Show off your business values with our Saving Grace Food Donor
Emblem and enjoy the benefits of our social media cross-promotion.
Let your employees, customers and the community know you help people and the planet by donating excess food with our food donor emblem. Food donors can proudly display this emblem to let people know they are a Saving Grace partner.
Food Donors
A heartfelt thank you to the businesses and organizations who donated their excess perishable food in 2024:
GROCERS
425,928 LBS
WHOLESALERS
115,926 LBS
CONVENIENCE STORES
87,894 LBS
EVENTS
25,520 LBS
RESTAURANTS
24,253 LBS
CATERERS
18,774 LBS
BUSINESSES
18,496 LBS
SCHOOLS
12,673 LBS
AGRICULTURE/FARMS/GARDENS
11,104 LBS
HOTELS
9,721 LBS
CAFETERIAS
5,329 LBS
CHURCHES
2,719 LBS
OTHER
893 LBS
Why it Matters
Food comprises 17% of Nebraska’s municipal waste stream; making it the third largest contributor to landfill waste in the state and first in Omaha.
In our industry, your heart breaks when you have to throw the food away, knowing there are people out there who really need it. Our partnership allows us to give back to our community and help families. It’s wonderful to be a part of something that makes such a huge impact.Jennifer Snow
Chef and Co-owner, Catering Creations