Commercial/Business Food Donors

Most businesses or commercial food kitchens have good food that is thrown in the trash due to food guidelines for food sales. Sell by dates are guidelines set for grocery or convenience store food sales where the food is removed from the shelf based on that date. The food is still “good” by a date that can be 3-7 day’s past that date and is therefore still fresh for food consumption. The food rescue operation for the CB Fridges would like to pick up that food that would otherwise land in a landfill and make it available at one of our community fridges.

Local Business, food services, and food producers simply give us a call at 712-642-1015 when there is food that has outlived shelf life for retail sales, but is still good to eat. Below is a diagram that demonstrates how the food gets to a family in need. Volunteers are are the center of making this work operationally.

We ask for food donations to either be arranged on a schedule or called in when there if food available for pickup and delivery to the fridges. Scheduled operations will need to identify when/frequency and where the donation can be picked up regularly and someone will be there to transport the food to one of the community fridges.

Unscheduled food donations from retail businesses or food producers can be called in as food becomes available for pickup. When calling 712-642-1015 to request a pickup, be prepared to provide the address and location at that address for the volunteer to arrive when and where appropriate. Also note, the amount of food and if repackaging is required due to larger portion size of the donation. That helps up prepare for what is needed when collecting the food before we can deliver the food to the fridge. We try to ensure all donations are appropriate for a meal for a family of 4 or single serving. You may be asked when the food was prepared to help us gauge for food safety and time we can leave in the refrigerator if not already marked in some way. Additional notations will be marked on any food allergens that the donation may contain to protect the patrons of the fridge from making an inappropriate selection.

the diagram below, represents how we keep food out of landfills and into the stomachs of the most vulnerable or our community. This builds strength and support without our community and generates a full heart and happy tummies. We can’t do this without our food donors, host locations, or volunteers so let’s celebrate this together and spread the love with everyone.