KarunaNews Story

In the late 20-teens, a sort of DoorDash service for good began rescuing donated food in Pittsburgh that was nearing its expiration and diverting to other recipients who could use it. Connecting with many local businesses, and with the help of an app, 412 Food Rescue had created the largest volunteer-led food transport network in a single urban region by 2019. 25,000 volunteer drivers used a DoorDash-like app to find donations of food that was perhaps unsaleable or nearly expired. Collecting it all, the volunteers brought it back to the organization’s kitchen. They churned out sometimes 600 meals a day for nonprofits that help feed those in need, while amassing a mess of good—some 70 million pounds of food were turned into 57 million meals, saving 30 million pounds of emissions from the food going to waste. By 2025, their impact is remarkable. They have expanded to include partners in Illinois, Arkansas, California, New York, Colorado, North Dakota, and Texas, who together rescued tens of millions of pounds of food that prevented an estimated 102 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, which they estimate would be the same impact as removing 4,043 cars from the roads for a year.