Food rescue programs save produce with imperfections for those in need

Food salvaging partnership helps distribute resources to those in need
To celebrate the partnership a ribbon cutting took place Wednesday in the space where these organizations teamed up to sort and repack rescued food.
FOX 2 - The GenesisHOPE food program was in need of a rescue - and a couple Detroit area nonprofits answered the call.
"With the federal cuts happening, our partner unfortunately had to pause distribution," said Selena Asberry-Gross.
Hundreds rely on GenesisHope every month for food so the organization searched for a lifeline.
"This is very important to my community. I have people thanking me every time they come," Asberry-Gross said.
A new partnership between Metro Food Rescue and Sharing Excess formed to help provide food to GenesisHOPE.
"We didn’t miss a beat," she said.
Metro Food Rescue and Sharing Excess worked together to salvage food that would otherwise go to waste.
"We do the rescuing of the food in the wholesale market they distributed out to the community and together created an impactful program," said Evan Ehlers, Metro Food Rescue.
Food with slight imperfections may not have much retail value but they still have nutritional value.
"A lot of our agencies the people they’re serving don’t have access to this food, 90% of SNAP retailers have little to no fruits and vegetables," said Chad Techner, Metro Food Rescue.
To celebrate the partnership a ribbon cutting took place Wednesday in the space where these organizations teamed up to sort and repack rescued food.
"We’ve already rescued enough food for three million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables or 650,000 pounds of food that’s in two months," Techner said.
The partnership is funded in part through grant money provided by organizations like the DTE Foundation.
