AwesomeStPaul is proud to announce our June 2025 grantee, Communty-driven Food Rescue. This program rescues surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributes it to those most in need.

A significant percentage of food, especially produce, in this country is discarded despite being perfectly good. This occurs at co-ops, grocery stores, restaurants, catering businesses, and distribution warehouses to make space for new shipments.
We build relationships with grocery stores, food co-ops, restaurants, and other food distributors to rescue healthy surplus food. Every week, we conduct regular pickups of large amounts of food that would traditionally go to waste. Most of the food is fresh produce, which is often harder for people in need to find. In recent years, our food source partners have included Metro Star Produce Distributor, Brake Bread, Green Grocer, Red Table Meats and Fresh Thyme Market.
We intentionally seek out food that would not be rescued by other organizations to ensure that our efforts are unique and impactful. We target smaller businesses like neighborhood groceries and restaurants, which are often overlooked by other food rescue programs. We provide ongoing training to these businesses, helping them identify and reduce food waste, thus increasing the amount of food we rescue over time.
We also partner with many local organizations, from soup kitchens to neighborhood food shelves, to ensure this food reaches the most disadvantaged. Distribution partners in recent years have included Merrick Family Services, Loaves & Fishes, Keystone Food Shelves (Frogtown, Midway, & Merriam Park), Neighborhood House, & many more.