This is our best year yet!

5,253,575 Servings Diverted and Counting

We Don’t Waste is making a bigger impact then ever and so are your donations. For every $20 donated we are able to provide 125 meals to people in the Denver Metro area.  We need your help to keep this momentum up. Click hereto feed the hungry in Denver. Donate $20 now.

Our Team:

The work the team puts out on the road every day, the relationships that are built are what makes We Don’t Waste so successful.

There are big changes coming to there We Don’t Waste team in April. Our Director of Operations, Scott Van Daele is moving to Duluth, MN and is leaving huge boots to fill. His passion for helping others has always been  a driving force for We Don’t Waste’s success. We are sad to see him leave but wish him the very best of luck on his next adventure.

With Scotts departure we have made several changes to our amazing team. Congratulations to Tim Sanford who will take over the role of Director of Operations. We also welcome Dana Van Daele to the team as Program Manager and Matt Karm, who  has put in great work and is now promoted to Assistant Program Manager.

Congratulations to all!

The Trucks:

Last year you helped us to add two new trucks to our fleet. We are growing quickly picking up more food then ever before.

January: 1.1 million Servings
February: 1.5 million Servings
March: 2.5 million Servings

Thank you for your continued support to your community as we work to increase food security and reduce food waste!

Our Partners:

Aurora Public Schools and We Don’t Waste began partnering in August of 2015 and have recovered 52,000 servings from just one school .

We are proud to announce this partnership is expanding. Four more schools will be  committed to recovering unused food. This will have a great impact on the food available to those who are food insecure in our community. It will also help to eliminate nutrient rich food from entering landfills therefore helping our environment.

Thank you to Aurora Public Schools as well as all of our food donors. Here’s to another great year!

Social Venture Partners:

We Don’t Waste has been recognized by the  Social Venture Partners of Denver. Together we are committed to a year long partnership focused on our supply chain management and corporate sustainability measures.

Upcoming Events

Bacon and Beer Classic

Saturday, April 16

Do you like bacon? That was a rhetorical question because everyone does! Come eat bacon and drink beer. We Don’t Waste has been asked to recover the unused food after the event. Click here to get your tickets and receive 20% off

Dumpster Dinner Dinner

Friday, May 21

The Modern Eater is hosting a benefit dinner for We Don’t Waste on Friday, May 21st. Click Here to listen to an episode of the Modern Eater. Segment 1 talks about the Dinner.

Aloy Modern Thai Community Nights

Every Monday in June

Aloy Modern Thai is a fantastic new restaurant located at 2134 Larimer St, Denver. We Don’t Waste has been selected for June as their “nonprofit of the month” Head to Bo Bean any Monday in June for some delicious food and 20% of the proceeds go to We Don’t Waste. June 13th some of our staff and board will be there so don’t miss out!

Fill A Plate for Hunger

September 15, 2016

Fill A Plate for Hunger is our annual fundraising event. We had a blast last year. More details to come.

Happy World Water Day!

Did you know that approximately 92% of all fresh water on the planet goes to food production, yet 1/3 of all food produced is thrown away?

A simple sandwich of bread, turkey and cheese uses 216 gallons of water to produce. That is the equivalent of turning on your faucet full blast for 2 hours and 20 minutes.

To produce a 1/3lb hamburger patty an estimated 660 gallons of water are used. That is 7 hours and 20 minutes of your faucet running full blast.

When you waste food, you waste water. We Don’t Waste works hard everyday to collect overproduced food that would otherwise be thrown away and gets it into the hands of our community members who need food.

We Don’t Waste has distributed 1.5 million meals this year. There is much more food out there for us to recover but we cannot do it without your help.

A donation of just $10 helps to distribute 62 meals. Take a moment to show your support and donate now. Click on the Donate button on the screen.

More resources about water footprints:

– http://www.watercalculator.org
– http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-burger-20140124-story.html
– http://buff.ly/21hqzxp

The Western Dairy Association donated of 450 servings of shelf stable milk. Milk is a commodity that food banks have a high demand for but is difficult to procure.  That is part of the reason this donation makes such a huge impact to our community.

“I am so excited about this food donation because it’s a great example of how we can work together to improve and maximize the mutual benefits of the rural-urban interface as it relates to agriculture,” said Recycling Specialist Virginia Till, EPA Region 8

Read full article below.

http://westerndairyassociation.org/western-dairy-helps-fight-food-waste/

[gdlr_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meXdh9QH9DA” ]

We Don’t Waste currently relies solely on grants, donations and the generosity of food service providers throughout the city. And Arlan and his crew appreciate people spreading the word.

[gdlr_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mysLRqCc3GI” ]

Where Does the Food Come From

Many of Denver’s top venues, caterers, restaurants and food producers contact We Don’t Waste when they have unused fresh food that would be thrown away. Food contributed includes fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods, and restaurant grade prepared meals.

Where Does the Food Go

Organizations such as Father Woody’s Haven of Hope, Denver Inner City Parish, Beacon Place, SafeHouse Denver, Harbor Lights, The Gathering Place and many others receive the donations. The food is provided to each participating organization, and auguments their food needs, helping to reduce their food costs and optimize their budgets.

Beneficiary Agencies

Currently, we support Denver’s community-based agencies that provide food to the underserved. They serve more than 5,000 meals to men, women and children every day in our community.

People in Need

A diverse group of people — children, the elderly, homeless, veterans, the working poor, single-parent families, the physically and mentally challenged, those struggling to make ends meet — benefit from the contributions to the participant agencies.