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Tag: I-Rescue

Editor’s note: Table to Table Executive Director Heather Thompson appeared on Healthy In The Garden State’s “A Dose of Health” short-form series highlighting the people, places, and resources supporting physical, mental, and emotional well-being across New Jersey.

In this episode of “A Dose of Health, Kate Cherichello Tente sits down with Heather Thompson, Executive Director of Table to Table — New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization. With Earth Day right around the corner, this conversation highlights the powerful connection between environmental health and human health. Table to Table is on a mission to reduce food waste, lower harmful methane emissions, and deliver fresh, nutritious food to neighbors facing food insecurity across northern New Jersey.

In this minisode, Kate and Heather explore:

From mobile markets to community partnerships, this episode is a reminder that small actions can create big change — for our health, our communities, and our planet.

Whether you’re looking to volunteer, donate, or simply learn how to waste less, this is a conversation that matters.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane.

Related:

Fighting hunger while reducing food waste is the mission Table to Table, a nonprofit making a meaningful impact across New Jersey communities. This summer, Table to Table is expanding its reach through a new partnership with Goya Presents Flag Cities. Heather Thompson, Executive Director of Table to Table, spoke about the organization’s mission and this partnership on ONNJ’s “Mornings with Ken Rosato.”

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane.

Related:

Editor’s note: Table to Table Executive Director Heather Thompson wrote this opinion piece. It originally appeared on NJ.com Sunday, March 29, 2026. Click here to read the article.

Nearly three billion pounds of surplus food is produced each year in New Jersey — the majority of which goes to waste, despite being perfectly edible.

At the same time, more than 1.1 million New Jerseyans are food insecure, with limited or uncertain access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for themselves and their families. Of that number, a staggering 270,000 are children.

The amount of good food being discarded while so many people struggle to access food represents a significant disconnect. But there is good news in New Jersey.

A New Law Pushes Food Waste Reduction

A law passed in January mandates county-level solid waste management districts to reduce annual food waste by 50% by 2035. It is a significant step that will benefit the environment by reducing methane gas emissions and has strong potential to benefit neighbors facing food insecurity.

While national goals to reduce food waste have been in place since 2015, and state goals since 2017, this marks the first time New Jersey has implemented legislation specifically aimed at driving action at the local level.

With the passage of this bill, county officials, municipal leaders and local organizations are mobilizing to explore strategies that will be most effective for their own communities.

The legislation also highlights the donation of perishable food as a key strategy, reinforcing what organizations like Table to Table have known for many years: food rescue — where food businesses donate surplus fresh and prepared food that is quickly delivered to pantries, shelters and other community organizations — is a highly effective model that benefits everyone involved.

Donation Before Composting

When many people think about reducing food waste, composting is often the first solution that comes to mind. Composting is far preferable to sending food to landfills, but when food is still edible, donation should be the first step.

Take an oddly shaped apple, for example. A shopper may pass it over at the supermarket in favor of something that looks more perfect.

After a few days, a new shipment arrives, shelves are cleared and that apple is removed. It does not need to be thrown away. It is perfectly edible and likely quite delicious.

Through food rescue, that apple can be safely donated and end up in a child’s lunch box the next day. If it is badly bruised, it can instead go to a local farm for animal feed. Only when food is no longer safe for consumption of any kind should it be composted.

It Takes a Village to Rescue Food

Building a sustainable and scalable food rescue system requires collective effort. Several food recovery organizations across New Jersey play critical roles in linking surplus food to those in need. Hundreds of food businesses have committed to donating quality surplus food.

Thousands of volunteers conduct rescues, support outreach and assist local pantries and food distributions to ensure food reaches neighbors who need it.

With this new law in place, those local networks can grow and coordinate around shared goals — ensuring more good food ends up on tables instead of in landfills.

Food rescue is an efficient solution to reducing food waste while directly addressing food insecurity. It is a win-win model with room for everyone to participate.

As New Jersey counties embrace food rescue as a core strategy, our air will get cleaner, landfills will grow more slowly, and, most importantly, our neighbors and their children will be nourished.

Heather Thompson is the executive director of Table to Table, a New Jersey nonprofit that bridges the gap between food waste and food insecurity by mobilizing refrigerated trucks and volunteers to rescue fresh surplus food — the equivalent of more than 25 million meals annually — and deliver it directly to pantries, shelters, and community agencies.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane.

Related:

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on TAPinto Wayne. Click here to read the original article.

The Wayne Rotary Club, working alongside the Wayne Volunteers and nonprofit Table to Table, is organizing a large-scale meal-packing event Saturday, April 18 at the Wayne Community Center.

The goal is to prepare 2,000 meal packs for more than 10 organizations across Passaic County, TAPinto Wayne reported. Table to Table volunteers will collect the meal packs and deliver them to the partner organizations.

Making sandwiches and creating meal packs are just two of the ways volunteers can give of their time and energy to our 26-year mission of rescuing food, reducing waste, and relieving hunger.

For ways you can volunteer to help Table to Table, click here.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane.

Related:

Students from Ridgewood’s Willard Elementary School collected bags of food for us as part of the school’s Service Day March 17.

Fifth-graders organized the food by type. They then took items from each food type and made 34 food packs that we delivered to the Ridgewood YMCA for their food distribution.

Students also drew sketches of what a food rescue hero looks like to them and were asked how food rescue heroes help others. One student responded that they help by, “Saving the food that would go waste and giving it to people in need.”

Every participating student received a Table to Table Food Rescue Hero badge to let others know the role they played in alleviating hunger that day.

Food drives are one component of our School Partnerships initiative. We partner with elementary, middle, and high schools, along with universities, on a wide range of food drives to collect nutritious fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, and turkeys and hams for the holidays.

The Ridgewood Public School District is a stout supporter of ours. The district and us joined forces to form Bergen County’s first district-wide food rescue relationship. Nourishing surplus meals and snacks from seven school cafeterias are collected from each of the schools by Pomptonian Food Service, the district’s food service company, rescued by local volunteers, and delivered to Ridgecrest Senior Apartments through Table to Table’s I-Rescue App. More than 10,000 pounds of nutritious food has been rescued to date.

 “Our connection with Table to Table is a vital part of our commitment to a greener, more supportive Ridgewood,” said Dr. Mark Schwarz, Superintendent of Schools. “We are proud of this shared mission to eliminate food waste in our cafeterias and redirect those resources to those in need. It’s a powerful lesson for our students: when we work together, we can turn a logistical challenge into a community solution.”

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane.

Related:

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on TAPinto Ridgewood. Click here to read the entire story.

Surplus meals and snacks have been a welcome surprise at Ridgecrest Senior Apartments.

Ridgewood Public Schools and Table to Table, an organization that brings surplus meals to those in need, have teamed up to bring surplus meals and snacks from the district’s seven cafeterias into Ridgewood’s senior apartments.

“We are proud of this shared mission to eliminate food waste in our cafeterias and redirect those resources to those in need,” said Ridgewood Superintendent Dr. Mark Schwarz. It’s a powerful lesson for our students: when we work together, we can turn a logistical challenge into a community solution.”

Since the partnership began in October, 132 rescues have been completed, rescuing more than 10,000 pounds of surplus food.

“The impact that the Ridgewood School District is making for our neighbors in need as well as our planet is nothing short of amazing,” said Table to Table Executive Director Heather Thompson.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 million meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

Brendan O’Byrne is the subject of Table to Table’s most recent volunteer spotlight.

“One of my best friends is on the Table to Table Board of Directors, David Hildes, and we go to a lot of Table to Table Chefs Galas together. I just retired and I told him that it was my time to pay him back for all the times he’s invited my wife and I to be at his table.”

Volunteering Like Brendan Does

Signing up to be a Table to Table volunteer is easy. Julie Kinner, Table to Table’s Vice President of Operations, said all you have to do is download the Table to Table I-Rescue App, powered by Food Rescue Hero, on your phone to become a food rescue hero! You’ll complete a simple registration process and volunteer agreement, and then you can get started. The app walks you through every step! This is what Kaleb uses.

Volunteers of all ages are welcome to volunteer with our food rescue program. However, the driver must have a valid driver’s license, and a valid vehicle registration and insurance. 

Since we launched, more than 350 volunteers have completed more than 9,600 rescues and delivered more than 2 million pounds of donated food that would have been thrown away.

As New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue, our mission is to reduce food waste and provide nourishment to our food-insecure neighbors throughout North Jersey. We rescue millions of pounds of fresh food annually that would otherwise be wasted and end up in landfills, contributing to climate change. We deliver it to partner organizations who support the nearly 1.1 million people in our area who need it most.

Together, we can reduce food waste in our home and make a positive impact on the planet. Every little bit of effort — no matter how small — leads to change.

March 4, 2026 – Saddle Brook, NJ – Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization, and the Ridgewood Public School District have joined forces to reduce food waste and feed those in need for Bergen County’s first district-wide food rescue relationship. As part of the collaboration, nourishing surplus meals and snacks from seven school cafeterias are collected from each of the schools by Pomptonian Food Service, the district’s food service company, rescued by local volunteers, and delivered to Ridgecrest Senior Apartments through Table to Table’s I-Rescue App. A total of 132 food rescues have been completed from October to the present, garnering more than 10,074 pounds of nutritious food.

“The impact that the Ridgewood School District is making for our neighbors in need as well as our planet is nothing short of amazing, and we are overjoyed to be joining forces,” said Heather Thompson, Executive Director, Table to Table. “Nearly 3 billion pounds of food is wasted annually in New Jersey while almost 1.1 million people in our state, including 270,000 children, face hunger. Table to Table offers a solution that keeps good, nourishing food out of landfills, and ensures it reaches the dinner tables of families, senior citizens, and other folks facing food insecurity – and we are thankful that the Ridgewood Schools are joining us in our mission,” Thompson concludes.  

 “Our connection with Table to Table is a vital part of our commitment to a greener, more supportive Ridgewood,” said Dr. Mark Schwarz, Superintendent of Schools. “We are proud of this shared mission to eliminate food waste in our cafeterias and redirect those resources to those in need. It’s a powerful lesson for our students: when we work together, we can turn a logistical challenge into a community solution.”

“Members of our Home and School Associations, Green Teams, and Sustainability Committee are honored to join forces with Table to Table,” said Julie Yohana, Supervisor of Transportation & Operations. “This initiative, beginning with our cafeteria surplus, is designed to ignite a spark in the Ridgewood Public Schools community, driving us to discover new, creative ways to fight food insecurity.”

Learn how to volunteer in picking up surplus food from the Ridgewood Schools and delivering it to local pantries.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to over 300 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 million meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane from impacting the environment.

About Ridgewood Public Schools

The Ridgewood Public School District is a premier K-12 public education system located in Bergen County, New Jersey, dedicated to providing a rigorous and supportive learning environment for its approximately 5,500 students. Consistently ranked among the top districts in the state and nation, Ridgewood is committed to academic excellence, innovative instruction, and the holistic development of every child. Through a diverse curriculum, robust extracurricular offerings, and a strong focus on social-emotional learning, the district empowers students to become lifelong learners and responsible global citizens. Ridgewood Public Schools prides itself on a culture of collaboration, involving dedicated educators, engaged parents, and a supportive community.

For more information, please visit www.rpsnj.us or follow the district on social media.

School district-wide food rescue effort already has delivered 10,000 pounds of food that otherwise would have gone to waste

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on binje.com. Click here for the story.

Here’s the challenging aspect of battling food insecurity: There are plenty of ways society can make a difference — and at little cost. It often just takes some out-of-the-box thinking to discover and implement them.

Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization, is offering a blueprint on how to do just that.

Table to Table and the Ridgewood Public School District have joined forces to reduce food waste and feed those in need for Bergen County’s first district-wide food rescue relationship.

“The impact that the Ridgewood School District is making for our neighbors in need as well as our planet is nothing short of amazing,” said Table to Table Executive Director Heather Thompson.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 million meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

Ridgewood students are leading the charge against food waste

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Ridgewood & Ho-Ho-Kus Magazine. Click here to read the rest of the article.

In the bustling kitchens of Ridgewood Public Schools, the end of the lunch bell no longer signals the end of a meal’s journey. Instead, it marks the beginning of a “rescue mission.”

Ridgewood has officially joined forces with Table to Table — New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization — to ensure that surplus food reaches the hands of those who need it most.

As of a January 2026, the district has completed 99 food rescues, recovering a stagging 7,489 pounds of nutritious food. The feat places Ridgewood at the forefront of sustainability as the first district in Bergen County — and the only the second in the state — to implement the I-Rescue Lunch program district wide.

Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 276 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

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