In 2021, a new community resource will help South Central Minnesota businesses find a way to donate usable food and will help non-profit organizations seeking food to address food insecurity. With the support of community leaders, Wooden Spoon received a Prevention of Wasted Food and Food Rescue grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. This grant allows the ideas being discussed for some time to come to fruition and establishes the South Central Minnesota Food Recovery Project.

The project seeks to address two important social issues: food waste and food insecurity. The goal is to create a system for local businesses to donate safe, healthy excess food to be used by local organizations and coalitions serving people who are low-income and/or people who are Black or Indigenous or people of color (BIPOC). The grant will create a space for storage of donated items, a system to attain the food, and an app for communicating the availability of the food for use by the agencies that need it.

We are currently seeking input from local restaurants who are interested in reducing food waste and/or donating food.  Please fill out the survey, found here: https://forms.gle/mDE3L2qL1m5DhsB58. 

If you are unable or unwilling to fill out the survey, and still would like to have your voice heard, please contact me directly at [email protected] or 213-675-1533.