NH Food Bank receives $750k grant to support food rescue from local retailers

An infusion of three-quarters of a million dollars is expected to bolster the New Hampshire Food Bank’s food recovery program, which works with local retailers to salvage fresh surplus food to support the hunger relief efforts of food pantries across the state.

The Food Bank’s Fresh Rescue program targets produce, dairy, meat, bakery items and prepared foods that cannot be sold in stores but, if diverted immediately through food pantries to people facing food insecurity, can still be viable, nutritious options.

More than 200 partner agencies and 180 stores across New Hampshire participate in the program, which has succeeded in recovering more than nine million pounds of food, according to the Food Bank.

The program, however effective, relies on a single staff member, and many participating agencies don’t have their own refrigerated vehicles to safely transport perishable foods. Over the next 18 months, the $750,000 grant, awarded to the Food Bank by Feeding America, is expected to help patch over some of these challenges.

“As we face rising food insecurity, as well as staffing constraints and capacity issues impacting food rescue efforts, we are confident this grant will have a major impact on our ongoing fight against hunger,” said Dennis Gichana, director of operations at the Food Bank.

The Food Bank plans to utilize the grant funding to hire two additional program coordinators, to secure cold storage supplies, such as freezers and scales, and to lease three refrigerated cargo vans that will be used to serve the North Country, Upper Valley and the state’s urban areas.

Ultimately, the grant is expected to expand the capacity of the Fresh Rescue program itself. The Food Bank hopes to source 10 million pounds of food through the program over the next year and a half, a 15% increase over its current rescue rate, Gichana said.

To facilitate that growth, the Food Bank is looking to recruit new volunteers and develop satellite warehouses in the areas where it’s concentrating its efforts.