Drive for 25
It all began with only one van, compassion, and a lot of drive to help our neighbors. Now,
25 years later, we’re delivering 25,000,000 pounds/meals in celebration of our 25th anniversary.
Join us in achieving this milestone. Here are 25 ways you can get involved!
Support Our Mission
- 1. Make a gift today! Your $25 delivers the equivalent of 250 meals; $250 provides enough fresh food for 2,500 meals!
- 2. Become one of the first 25 monthly donors and esteemed members of our Green Table of supporters. A monthly gift of just $25 rescues and delivers enough food for 3,000 meals each year – a big step towards our goal of 25 million meals! Simply click here to set up your recurring gift.
Volunteer
- 3. Become a Food Rescue Hero! Download our App, Table to Table I-Rescue, and use it to claim and deliver 25 food rescues between now and the end of the year. You can volunteer on your own time, in your own community!
- 4. Share a special skill with us – whether you have 2.5 hours to give or more!
- 5. Engage your kids and 25 of their friends to create a fresh food drive, then deliver the food to one of our partner organizations.
- 6. Lend a hand as an event or planning committee volunteer to help us make our anniversary celebrations the best ones yet!
Attend an Event or Host your Own!
- 7. Join us at our 25th anniversary Chefs Gala – taking place on September 25 (how perfect!)
- 8. Meet us on the green for our annual Golf Classic in June for exciting surprises.
- 9. Host a “no food waste” party! Invite 25 of your friends for cocktails, tea, or dinner to learn about Table to Table’s work in the community.
- 10. Join us at Fiesta for Good in November for spectacular cocktails and delicious food and celebrate 25 of our outstanding volunteers.
- 11. Reimagine happy hour by asking 25 friends to claim a food rescue using our app, Table to Table I-Rescue. Then, meet up afterwards to catch up and share your experiences!
Get Your Company Involved
- 12. Create teams at your company and get some friendly competition going to support Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch. Everyone wins, because every dollar raised helps us towards our goal of 25 million meals!
- 13. Volunteer! Spend the day with your coworkers at one of our food distribution sites, to see firsthand how fresh, rescued food benefits our communities. Or plan a Table to Table I-Rescue App takeover day, where you and your colleagues can rescue and deliver fresh food from multiple locations!
- 14. Join us as a sponsor for one of our events or programs, lending your support and showcasing your partnership with Table to Table.
- 15. Donate excess fresh food from your company’s cafeteria or special events.
- 16. Consider a “round up at the register” program to support our goal of delivering 25 million meals.
Get Your School Involved
- 17. Show your community school spirit with Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch, and help us reach our goal to deliver 25 million meals.
- 18. Reduce food waste in school cafeterias with I-Rescue Lunch. Collect wholesome, unopened food and donate it to neighbors in need. Aim for 25 lbs. a week!
Tune into our Table!
- 19. Sign up to receive our emails and be the first to know about exciting news, impact stories, and upcoming events. It takes 25 seconds or less!
- 20. Become a Table to Table social champion – follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram and react or comment 25 times this month.
- 21. Celebrate our impact with a little fun. Turn up the tunes and enjoy this 25+ Playlist of Happy Songs while driving to your next I-Rescue pickup!
Reduce Food Waste in your Home
- 22. In just 25 minutes, you can take your first steps toward learning how to reduce waste in your home. Learn how to decode expiration dates and then do a fridge inventory to review expiration dates. Last in, Last Out.
- 23. Reduce waste while you improve your health. Here are 25 heart-healthy recipes so you can plan your shopping around only what you need.
- 24. Explore 25 ways to reduce food waste in your home!
- 25. Get cooking! Create 25 culinary masterpieces this year that put your leftovers and pantry staples to tasty use. Post pics of your creations on social media, share your recipe and tag Table to Table!
25 YEARS OF IMPACT
Our History
September 1999
With a single donated van, Table to Table launches NJ’s first food rescue program in Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties. Five food donors supplied food delivered to 3 recipient agencies.
April 2000
Launched three spring events to raise support Table to Table: The Food & Wine Spectacular, The Great Grills, and The Chefs Gala, featuring Founding Chef, Peter Kelly.
August 2001
Increased food donors to 80 partners including Grand Union, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market, collecting enough food for over 50K meals each month.
January 2001
Expanded operations into Essex County.
December 2001
Finished the year by picking up enough food for over one million meals – delivering food for an additional million meals every year since.
June 2008
17 Inserra Shop Rite Supermarkets added to our routes.
September 2012
Bruce Springsteen performs a “Farewell to Giants Stadium” Concert, one of several by The Boss to support Table to Table.
September 2014
David Burke Vs. Takashi Iron Chef in support of Table to Table.
April 2015
Established first Mobile Market at Newark’s Ironbound Community Corporation.
September 2017
Opened 3000 sq‘ft refrigerated warehouse to facilitate large food donations from Hello Fresh.
March 2020
Responded to the Pandemic with outdoor food distribution sites in all 4 counties and partnered with NYC’s City Harvest to coordinate, share and redistribute NY/NJ’s excess food.
April 2021
Launch of Table to Table I-Rescue App in Bergen County.
September 2021
Hurricane Ida decimates our fleet of trucks, yet food delivery continues with the help of partners like Bergen County Task Force.
October 2022
Table to Table expands I-Rescue into Essex, Passaic, and Hudson Counties.
April 2023
Table to Table I-Rescue featured on The Today Show.
January 2024
Table to Table announces its 2024 Goal: to pick up and deliver enough food for 25 million meals.
February 2024
Charity Navigator awards T/T its 14th consecutive 4-star rating.
September 2024
Table to Table celebrates its 25th Anniversary.
Besides feeding hundreds of thousands of people, avoiding tons of food waste dumped into landfills, we had the most remarkable unplanned/unforeseen impact. By delivering this rescued food free of charge, the organizations we serviced were able to use their meager food budget dollars for more of their primary services: a drug rehab center built a computer lab for its clients; an elder care facility was able to add more rooms for low-income residents; and an AIDS center was able to purchase a van for daily medical trips for their patients. Wide & valuable benefits we had never even dreamed about.
– Claire Insalata Poulos, Founder