The Food Drive
Melrose , Massachusetts, United States
Team Since 10-01-2021
Food Security Project
Lifetime Hours Donated
The Food Drive’s mission is to promote food access, climate action, and food justice. We distribute rescued, surplus, and donated food in our community; divert wholesome food from landfills; and work for change in our food system.
Awards
2021
Gimme Food and Shelter
2023
May Team of the Month
2023
June Picture of the Month
Events
Surplus Meets Need
08/01/2023 - 08/31/2023 See PhotosSurplus Meets Need
August 1, 2023 - August 31, 2023
Food rescue is about connecting surplus with need. Food rescue also comes in many forms, so The Food Drive is intentionally small and local so we can listen and respond to both sides of the surplus/need equation. So what are we hearing right now? Food prices are still through the roof. Especially fresh fruits and vegetables. At the same time, we’re hearing the question, “I’m rolling in cucumbers from my garden, how can I donate?” And there you go…surplus meets need. Local business owner Lesley Keegan of Paper & Clay (a creative gift shop!) offered to host a Garden Donation Cooler in their shop to collect those cucumbers…plus tomatoes, zucchini, and green beans so far! Now our team delivers extra local garden produce on our regular rescue routes to low-income housing residents. Our neighbors should not struggle with hunger when so much good food is readily available.
Driving Food Bright & Early
07/01/2023 - 07/31/2023 See DetailsDriving Food Bright & Early
July 1, 2023 - July 31, 2023
One third of the population of Massachusetts is currently struggling with food insecurity. This means that if you’re walking down the street or driving your car in our state, one in every three people you encounter is likely wondering where their next meal is coming from. Our neighbors should not struggle with hunger when so much good food is readily available. That’s why our volunteers and staff at The Food Drive are up bright and early delivering food in our community. A terrific example in Saturday mornings… before many people finish breakfast, dedicated drivers have already rescued from Shaw’s Melrose, Caffe Nero, Starbuck’s, Colette Bakery, two Dunkin Donuts, and Calareso’s Farm Stand, and delivered to multiple recipients. Our longest-standing Saturday recipient is the Everett Grace Food Pantry, where The Food Drive has delivered every weekend for nearly three years. Their team distributes food to thousands of people every week, and we’re proud to stand alongside them to feed our community. The way to end hunger is TOGETHER.
Veggies, of course….
06/01/2023 - 06/30/2023 See PhotosVeggies, of course….
June 1, 2023 - June 30, 2023
At The Food Drive, we celebrate the arrival of the wondrous month of June. Why? Veggies of course! In June, Oakdale Farm and Dick’s Market Garden donate bins of gorgeous greens and summer squash at the Melrose Farmer’s Market. Volunteers from our local CSA, Farm Direct Coop, drop extra veggie boxes on our Donation Porch. And our new grocery partner, Calareso’s Farm Stand, sets aside vegetables and fruit all week long for volunteers like Sean to rescue and deliver. Let’s face it, food pantry shelves are well stocked with mac and cheese. But where are the fresh veggies that we all need to live healthy lives? That’s where hyperlocal, super-responsive food rescue comes in. Fresh local produce can’t be BEET.
An Eventful May!
05/01/2023 See PhotosAn Eventful May!
May 1, 2023
May 2023 was definitely EVENT-FUL for The Food Drive! Now that we’ve been rescuing food in our community for over two years, more and more local events are reaching out with their surplus food! This month alone, we rescued burritos and fixings from a Teacher Appreciation Lunch at an elementary school (delivered by the superhero above!), pasta and salad from the high school band banquet, snacks and waters from a middle school dance, appetizers and treats from two office parties, and fruit and beverages from a Mother’s Day 5K, and distributed it all between three food pantries and two motel shelters. At the end of an event, organizers often wonder how to deal with leftovers – a challenge that can easily be turned into an opportunity with the right resources! The Food Drive is thrilled and grateful to be a resource in our community to connect surplus food with people who need it.
Celebrating Our Post Grad Volunteers
04/01/2023 See PhotosCelebrating Our Post Grad Volunteers
April 1, 2023
On Tuesdays, The Food Drive has the great pleasure of working with James K, Ryan, James D, and TJ, members of the Melrose High School Special Education Department’s Post Graduate program. Alongside their incredible job coaches Kathy and Antonia, these students made the remarkable commitment to volunteer with us every single week during the school year, and they have become a vital part of our work to feed our community. The Post Grads rescue food from local grocery stores and specialty shops, monitor our ongoing Community Donation bins, help stock pantry shelves with “grocery store shopping scavenger hunts,” and pick up donations for the Melrose Community Freezer. Thus far, they’ve delivered food to ten recipient organizations in seven communities, including A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry and Pantry of Hope in Melrose; the Everett Grace Food Pantry; My Brother’s Table in Lynn; Bread of Life and Housing Families in Malden; the Medford Senior Center; the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield, the MBS Community Dinner in Wakefield, and the Wakefield Food Pantry. In April 2023, the students used a generously donated gift card to select, purchase and deliver Easter candy to one of our Melrose pantries. “Thanks to their help, all of our guests had an Easter treat in their bags, and we’re so grateful,” said a pantry coordinator. The overarching purpose of the Post Grad program is to provide life skills and vocational opportunities for special-education students ages 18 – 22, and to use those skills in a meaningful way. We celebrate their accomplishments, and the grace, enthusiasm, and kindness they have shown in serving their community.
April 2023 – WE DRIVE FOOD
04/01/2023 - 04/30/2023 See PhotosApril 2023 – WE DRIVE FOOD
April 1, 2023 - April 30, 2023
You know that warm feeling when a ray of sunshine pours in the window after a spring rain? Or when the first seeds in your garden lift their leaves to the sun? That's the feeling that fuels our partners and volunteers at The Food Drive. Because what we bring to this community goes much deeper than delivering food. We meet people where they are with the resources they need. Our neighbors who struggle with food insecurity face numerous barriers to healthy food access: low-paying jobs, fixed incomes, time constraints from juggling multiple jobs, disabilities, discrimination, health conditions, mobility challenges, logistical issues, and stigma, to name a few. So, our volunteers, like Virginie, literally become those rays of sunshine, and work to melt some of the barriers many are facing in the community. The Food Drive's volunteers offer their time and resources to help feed our community. They are the missing link that connects food with people who need it. Consider this. Without the Food Drive, more than 250 tons of food would have been added to landfills already. Instead it filled the plates of our neighbors. Simply stated: WE DRIVE FOOD.
Feeding Our Neighbors – this month and every month!
03/01/2023 - 03/31/2023 See PhotosFeeding Our Neighbors – this month and every month!
March 1, 2023 - March 31, 2023
The Food Drive is thrilled to report that we distributed 227,000 pounds of food in 2022, our second full year of operation. In our own home city of Melrose, Massachusetts, we delivered 54,000 pounds (27 tons) of good fresh food to our neighbors, In March 2023 we rescued and delivered food in 10 communities, and here’s a glimpse at the deliveries we made in Melrose: • Levi Gould & Fuller Housing senior housing residences, where Resident Service Coordinators Amanda & Alison provide a weekly “café” gathering for residents to enjoy rescued treats and receive rescued produce and bread. • Steele House, a low-income housing complex a half mile from our home office, where we offer a “No Cost Grocery Store” in the lobby community space twice monthly. Resident volunteers coordinate internal details and deliver groceries to home-bound residents. • Milano Senior Center, where we deliver baked goods for their ever-popular Wednesday bingo, plus their breakfast and lunch service. • Pantry of Hope at First Baptist Church, currently serving 30 to 50 guests monthly. Our Melrose High School Special Education Department volunteers deliver rescued and donated items weekly for their Tuesday distribution. • A Servant Heart's Food Pantry at Faith Evangelical Church, located two blocks from our home office and also serving 30 to 50 guests monthly. We deliver multiple times weekly, including items from Shaw’s Melrose, Wakefield Public Schools, and our donation bins. • Cefalo Retirement Complex, a senior housing complex that also hosts a weekly coffee gathering for rescued treats. We also deliver produce from the Melrose Farmer’s Market when in season. Feeding our neighbors…that’s what we do.
February 2023 Food Rescue – Consistency Matters!
02/01/2023 - 02/28/2023 See PhotosFebruary 2023 Food Rescue – Consistency Matters!
February 1, 2023 - February 28, 2023
Pictured below is the fantastic team that volunteered for our food rescue at Whole Foods Melrose on Presidents’ Day. Yep, a holiday. In fact, The Food Drive rescues food every holiday. And every Saturday. And every Sunday. Why? Consistency. Our food donors depend on keeping good fresh food out of landfills through our regular, reliable pickups. People in our community depend on our deliveries of that good fresh food. Food is wasted and food is needed 365 days a year, so one of our most important goals is consistency – providing the “point A to point B” solution for food insecurity and food waste that our recipients and donors can count for the long term. Consistency matters. Especially consistent access to fruits and vegetables for our neighbors. With the current price of groceries and with SNAP benefits ending last week, The Food Drive’s ability to provide fresh perishable food for people, pantries, and programs in our community is vital.
HYPERLOCAL! January 2023 Food Rescues
01/01/2023 - 01/31/2023 See DetailsHYPERLOCAL! January 2023 Food Rescues
January 1, 2023 - January 31, 2023
Why food rescue? HYPERLOCAL! This January, the Food Drive made 35 to 40 deliveries every week, and all within a 10-mile radius. Our mission is the greatest impact within the closest proximity, so our staff and volunteers quite literally drive food from the point of potential waste to the point of need. At each pickup site, we sort and match rescued food to the specific needs of each recipient location, then transport directly from Point A to Point B. Food is in our vehicles roughly the same amount of time as a trip to the grocery store. For our twice-monthly No Cost Grocery Store program, we brought 350 pounds of fresh healthy food from Whole Foods to the lobby of senior housing facility the Steele House, a three-minute journey. Each week we delivered prepared food and groceries from a Buckalew’s General Store to Pantry of Hope, a block away. And volunteers like Matthew and Tran made frequent trips to A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry, located two blocks from our home office. The Food Drive is on a mission to connect the right food at the right time to the people who need it most…right in our own neighborhood.
Neighborhood Food Drive – December
12/10/2022 See PhotosNeighborhood Food Drive – December
December 10, 2022
The Food Drive’s Neighborhood Food Drive Program meets specific requests and fills gaps at local pantries by mobilizing Melrose community members to host targeted food drives in their neighborhoods and/or businesses. In December 2022, the Humanitarian Club at Melrose High School reached out to The Food Drive to host a Christmas Food Drive at Shaw’s Melrose. We provided the details for the holiday wish list from A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry, located just three blocks from the school, and coordinated the schedule for optimum delivery time. The club held the drive outside the store on a chilly Saturday and collected 1500 pounds of nonperishables for the pantry’s Christmas distribution. Together we loaded bag after bag after bag into the pantry, and fully stocked their shelves for the holiday. Afterwards, The Food Drive closed the sustainability loop by picking up unused items and re-distributing them to another local pantry.
December Food Rescues
12/01/2022 - 12/31/2022 See PhotosDecember Food Rescues
December 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022
Why food rescue? The Food Drive passed the milestone of 450,000 total pounds rescued in December, but to us, it’s the little things that matter the most. Like a rescue volunteer bringing her two-year old daughter along so she sees from an early age that good food has no business in landfills. Like how much those treats that she and her mom delivered mean to the school that received them: “Thank you again for the wonderful treats you bring us all year long, it's so appreciated!! You would think each staff member was given a million dollars when they come down to get their donuts. I was just told 'I love the donut fairy!'" The Food Drive is on a mission to connect the right food at the right time to the people who need food…and joy…most.
November Food Rescue
11/01/2022 - 11/30/2022 See PhotosNovember Food Rescue
November 1, 2022 - November 30, 2022
Why food rescue? The weekend after Thanksgiving 2022, The Food Drive rescued and distributed 5000 pounds of food recovered from groceries stores, bakeries, and local events. And it was good food that has no business in a landfill — carts bursting with prepared meals and sandwiches, towers of festive cakes and pies, racks of bread, catering trays with full entrees, and box upon box of beautiful produce and fruit displays. The goal of food rescue is both to keep food out of landfills and to make sure food is going to its “highest and best use” – that is, being eaten by people, according to ReFED, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss. At The Food Drive take this a step further and commit the time and care necessary to match food with recipients where it will have the greatest impact within the closest proximity. We delivered a large amount of this post-Thanksgiving bounty to My Brother’s Table in Lynn, Massachusetts, where it went a long way toward the 900 meals that their incredibly dedicated team provides seven days a week. However, the carefully selected boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables that we delivered to the Dwelling Place Soup Kitchen meant just as much to the guests for their dinner service. The Food Drive is on a mission to connect the right food at the right time to the people who need it most.
October Free Meal Distribution and Food Rescue
10/01/2022 - 10/31/2022 See PhotosOctober Free Meal Distribution and Food Rescue
October 1, 2022 - October 31, 2022
In addition to 130 food rescues in October, The Food Drive in Melrose, Massachusetts launched the final phase of its Community Freezer program…weekly distribution! A joint program of First United Methodist Church of Melrose and The Food Drive, the Melrose Community Freezer offers nutritious, balanced frozen meals at no cost for people in the local community experiencing need. Distribution is open to all every Sunday after church from 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM, and each guest chooses three frozen meals from a wide selection. To accompany each meal, guests receive a packet of homemade treats made with love by children and youth at FUMC. Since local food relief services are limited on weekends, the short-term goal of the Sunday distribution is to bridge the gap between the Friday pantry at A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry and the Tuesday pantry at Pantry of Hope, both located in Melrose. The long-term goal of the program is to maintain an inventory of entrees for specific dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, low fat, dairy free, and low salt…items that are not always readily available at pantries and soup kitchens. Since its launch in early 2022, the Melrose Community Freezer program has provided over 450 meals, thanks to donations from the Melrose FUMC congregation and volunteer cooks.
September Food Relief and Food Rescue
09/01/2022 - 09/30/2022 See PhotosSeptember Food Relief and Food Rescue
September 1, 2022 - September 30, 2022
September means back to school! In addition to food rescue, The Food Drive provides a weekly volunteer opportunity for students ages 18 – 22 in the Post Graduate program at the Melrose High School Special Education Department. Job coaches focus on building vocational and employment skills with the students from volunteering and work site opportunities, and building community and independent living skills related to navigating the world as individuals transition to adulthood. The Post Grads and their coaches actively participate in many aspects of The Food Drive’s hunger relief and food waste prevention activities. The students rescue and distribute food from grocery stores, collect and deliver items from The Food Drive’s eight local food donation bins, and use donated gift cards to shop for the items that are most needed by our Melrose pantries, filling significant gaps on their shelves. In addition to strengthening their skills and learning about the challenges of hunger and food waste, the students provide a meaningful service in their own community. The Food Drive is thrilled to collaborate with them for this school year! Thanks to the Post Grads and over 150 volunteers, The Food Drive passed the milestones of 400,000 pounds rescued and 1 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions prevented in under two years.
August Food Rescue
08/01/2022 - 08/31/2022 See PhotosAugust Food Rescue
August 1, 2022 - August 31, 2022
In August, The Food Drive continued delivering a rainbow of local produce to our local pantries and low-income housing facilities. With food prices continuing to rise, fresh fruits and vegetables can be prohibitively expensive, and are often in short supply at pantries and soup kitchens. Too often perishable food goes to waste, especially during the bounty of summer. Our food rescue service provides the missing link between food donors and people experiencing need…especially the need for healthy food. Thanks to partnerships with Dick’s Market Garden, Oakdale Farms, the Melrose Farmer’s Market, Farm Direct Co-op, Whole Foods Melrose & Woburn, and Shaw’s Melrose, and over 150 volunteers, The Food Drive carefully matches nutritious rescued food to meet the needs of recipients in our community.
July Food Rescue
07/01/2022 - 07/31/2022 See PhotosJuly Food Rescue
July 1, 2022 - July 31, 2022
July means the start of summer’s bounty, and our favorite time of year. Fresh local healthy food abounds! Each Thursday evening, The Food Drive rescued hundreds of pounds of produce from Dick’s Market Gardens and Oakdale Farm at the Melrose Farmer’s Market and delivered literally one mile to A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry and to Cefalo Retirement Complex for Friday morning distribution. In both locations, pantry guests and low-income residents are able to pick their own items, and had a rainbow of seasonal choices: summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, greens, corn, peaches, berries, herbs, plums and peas. At our downtown food rescue partner, Buckalew’s General Store, The Food Drive’s volunteers collected beautifully prepared summer salads and grain bowls and transported two blocks to Pantry of Hope, where the guest count has increased from 30 to 50 families. And on July 31, it took four cars to transport the rescued fruits and vegetables from our downtown Melrose Whole Foods to Bread of Life in Malden, where demand for food is also on the rise. The Food Drive is on a mission to tackle hunger at the root. Everyone deserves healthy food.
June 2022 Food Rescues
06/01/2022 - 06/30/2022 See PhotosJune 2022 Food Rescues
June 1, 2022 - June 30, 2022
In June, The Food Drive launched into summer mode! This means beautiful early summer produce of course, with the kickoff of rescues from our local farmer’s markets and CSAs. It also means celebrations…The Food Drive recovered hundreds of pounds of food from graduation parties, end-of-school celebrations, and barbecues. It also means getting outdoors…people of all ages on all modes of transport rescuing and delivering food in our community. On scooters and bikes, in cars and vans, and on foot, our dedicated volunteers brought children, parents, pals and even furry friends to keep good food out of landfills and fill the plates of their neighbors instead.
May 2022 Food Rescues
05/01/2022 - 05/31/2022 See PhotosMay 2022 Food Rescues
May 1, 2022 - May 31, 2022
The Food Drive serves 11 communities north of Boston: Everett, Lynn, Malden, Melrose, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Swampscott, Wakefield, and Woburn. Our food donors include grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, bakeries, specialty shops, and farms. Recipients include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, community centers, free meal programs, low-income housing residences, and individuals experiencing need. Our business model is small, local, and flexible so that our food donors directly support recipients in their own neighborhoods. The Food Drive’s rescues in May 2022 are terrific examples of the MANY HANDS that make food rescue happen! Volunteers brought children and grandchildren to help deliver healthy produce to our local food pantries. High school students recovered and delivered hundreds of pounds of prepared meals in communities with poverty rates of 15 to 20%. And neighbors joined together to rescued truckloads of perishable items from Whole Foods. Food is a basic human right, and The Food Drive is on a mission to ensure that everyone in our community has fresh, nutritious food.
April Food Distribution
04/01/2022 - 04/30/2022 See PhotosApril Food Distribution
April 1, 2022 - April 30, 2022
In April 2022, The Food Drive reached the milestone of 300,000 pounds of food distributed – an incredible amount kept out of landfills by a small grassroots nonprofit operating for only 18 months! This number translates to 750,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions prevented, which was an accomplishment we celebrated during Earth Month. It also translates to the $501,000 in value and most importantly, the equivalent of 261,000 meals for our local community. The Food Drive also fully implemented our Community Freezer program, a partnership between Melrose First United Methodist Church and The Food Drive to provide healthy meals for local food pantries, motel shelters, and community members experiencing food insecurity, especially those with immediate needs. As a result, when a motel shelter reached out to us in April because they were running low on food for their guests, The Food Drivee immediately delivered meals for everyone in the shelter. Food is a basic human right, and The Food Drive is on a mission to ensure that everyone in our community has fresh, nutritious food.
March 2022 Food Rescue
03/01/2022 - 03/31/2022 See PhotosMarch 2022 Food Rescue
March 1, 2022 - March 31, 2022
March was another busy month for The Food Drive, since lines were long and shelves and fridges were often empty at the pantries we serve. Our program now has 110 total volunteers, and we’re closing in on 300,000 pounds of food rescued since we started in November 2020. We share our stats every month, but our highest priority at The Food Drive is matching food with people for whom it will have the most impact. This month we rescued bags of sandwiches from Starbucks and muscled MANY boxes of produce from Whole Foods, and every delivery mattered. Those Starbucks sandwiches were a healthy lunch for our neighbors whose fixed incomes that don’t begin to cover escalating grocery prices. Those produce boxes went a long way toward meals for elderly and disabled residents living in low-income housing. The Food Drive is on a mission to direct healthy, viable food from full landfills toward full fridges and fuller plates in our community.
