Feeding America to Use New Technology for Local Food Rescue with $1.6M Google Global Impact Award

Innovative Online Marketplace Program Projected to Recover an Estimated 740 Million Meals per Year

December 19, 2014

Feeding America today received a $1.6 million Google Global Impact Award to use technology to advance its mission to feed Americans struggling with hunger.

Each year, billions of pounds of surplus food is sent to landfills while 49 million Americans, including 16 million children, lack reliable access to food.  This grant from Google will help support Feeding America's newest food rescue initiative—Online Marketplace—a program to help facilitate the safe recovery of excess food from local retailers and the foodservice industry by directly connecting donors to meal service programs and food pantries in local communities, with the oversight of our food banks. The Online Marketplace platform leverages technology to move food more quickly and safely from the donor to the people served by the Feeding America network.  

“Online Marketplace is a strategic priority for Feeding America, and this award will enable us to accelerate this program more rapidly,” said Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America. “This will result in a significant reduction in food waste while also helping to increase the number of meals we can provide to food insecure kids, families, and seniors across the country,” he added.

“The objective of  Feeding America’s Online Marketplace platform is  to drive efficiencies in our existing retail rescue programs and expand our food sourcing opportunities by adding additional  foodservice companies, convenience stores, and restaurants as donors to help more people facing hunger,” said Kevin Seggelke, President and CEO of Food Bank of the Rockies, one of the food banks that helped pilot the Online Marketplace program.

The Feeding America network of food banks serves 3.3 billion meals annually through its network of 200 food banks. The efficiencies created through Online Marketplace are projected to lead to the recovery of an incremental 740 million meals per year, helping to feed food insecure Americans while also driving significant reductions in food waste.


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About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.