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Listen to the exciting journey of school food waste solution leader: Table To Table’s Executive Director Heather Thompson. In this episode, Heather shares about her 20 plus year journey in the not for profit world, which includes learning about food waste, and then pursuing solutions to school food waste through a program called I-Rescue Lunch.


I-Rescue Lunch encourages K-12 students to rescue, recycle and reduce food waste. Partnering with schools, wholesome, unopened food is donated to people in the community who are in need.

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 deliver it to partner organizations who support the nearly 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.  

It may come as a surprise, but reducing food waste does a lot more than just ensure more food for people who need it. Food waste and loss reduction is actually a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. It’s an issue that Table to Table has embraced as a core part of our mission, focusing on rescuing perfectly good food that would otherwise be discarded in landfills and redirecting it to people facing food insecurity. This approach not only helps address hunger but also mitigates environmental harm. The best part is that anyone, anywhere can make a difference by simply reducing the amount of food they waste. 

The entire lifecycle of food—from growing and packaging to distributing, storing, and ultimately throwing it away—accounts for up to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Within this, food loss and waste alone contribute to a staggering 10% of those emissions. By tackling this issue, we have a chance to significantly reduce our environmental footprint. 

A particularly concerning aspect of food waste is the methane it produces when decomposing in landfills. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has a much stronger impact on global warming than carbon dioxide. However, methane breaks down relatively quickly in the atmosphere, usually within about 12 years – a much shorter time span than carbon dioxide. This means that reducing methane emissions can have a rapid and noticeable cooling effect on the planet, providing a short-term solution while we continue to work on longer-term climate strategies. 

The global community has recognized methane as an urgent priority, describing it as an “emergency brake” to slow the effects of climate change. By addressing methane emissions, we can quickly lower atmospheric greenhouse gases and reduce short-term warming. Since food degrading in landfills is responsible for an estimated 14% of U.S. methane emissions, reducing food waste is an essential, immediate step to create a more sustainable and resilient future for our planet. 

 ReFED, a U.S.-based nonprofit that works to advance solutions to food waste, released new data with support from the Global Methane Hub that reveals the methane hotspots for uneaten or “surplus” food in the U.S., and highlights solutions that can reduce waste and slash methane emissions.  Learn more here: ReFED Blog.  

Since starting our food rescue mission in 1999, Table to Table has prevented more than 544 metric tons of methane gas from being released into the atmosphere. You can be part of the solution right here in New Jersey!  To help reduce food waste in your community, you can claim a food rescue using our I-Rescue app or volunteer

Editor’s note: This blog was written by Valerie Jacklin, who oversees Research & Analytics for Table to Table.  

Table to Table's Valerie Jacklin

What foods are heart healthy? February is American Heart Month. It is a month dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

Table to Table takes pride in rescuing fresh, nutritious heart-healthy fruits and vegetables from our hundreds of food donors, including apples, broccoli, and carrots.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the following foods are a part of a heart-healthy eating plan:

  • Vegetables such as leafy greens (spinach, collard greens, kale, cabbage), broccoli, and carrots
  • Fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges, pears, grapes, and prunes
  • Whole grains such as plain oatmeal, brown rice, and whole-grain bread or tortillas
  • Fat-free or low-fat dairy foods such as milk, cheese, or yogurt
  • Protein-rich foods:
  • Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, tuna, and trout)
  • Lean meats such as 95% lean ground beef or pork tenderloin or skinless chicken or turkey
  • Eggs
  • Nuts, seeds, and soy products (tofu)
  • Legumes such as kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and lima beans
  • Oils and foods high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats:
  • Canola, corn, olive, safflower, sesame, sunflower, and soybean oils (not coconut or palm oil)
  • Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts
  • Nut and seed butters
  • Salmon and trout
  • Seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, or flax)
  • Avocados
  • Tofu

Read more about what we’re doing to rescue healthy surplus food and deliver it to our hungry neighbors.

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. This contributes to climate change. We deliver it to partner organizations who support the nearly 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.

Join us in congratulating Veer Agarwal, who is featured in Table to Table’s January Volunteer Spotlight.

Veer is a Livingston High School junior and the founder of ResQFood, a food rescue club. Veer received the President’s Volunteer Service Award’s highest honor—the Lifetime Achievement Award thanks to his volunteer food rescue efforts with Table to Table! Congratulations, Veer!

“I am a proud volunteer of Table to Table because of what this organization and cause stands for. Every person in New Jersey should have secure access to healthy meals, but the reality is that 1 million people are food insecure and 3 billion pounds of food gets thrown out annually. When picking up waste from restaurants and donating to local food pantries, I feel satisfied knowing that some family out there is benefitting from my efforts,” Veer said. “Additionally, I value my role as a high school volunteer for Table to Table. With a driver’s license, I can now use my newfound independence to serve the community. It is inspiring to know that I am part of the future generation of food rescue heroes, keeping Table to Table’s mission of combating hunger in safe hands.”

Table to Table Executive Director Heather Thompson and Veer Agarwal, founder of ResQFood.

Signing up to be a Table to Table volunteer is easy. Julie Kinner, Table to Table’s VP 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 Veer and his team 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 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.

Trying to be more active? Stay creative? Make a difference? These local organizations will keep you honest and help you thrive.

If you resolved to make a difference.

Bergen has no shortage of volunteer opportunities for those who want to help their neighbors. Help combat food insecurity and hunger in our county by helping rescue fresh food at Table to Table; donate your time and help at a homeless shelter through Family Promise of Bergen County; help build homes for those in need with Habitat for Humanity of Bergen CountyBergen Volunteers will give you opportunities to take part in mentor programs and more.

Related:

AJ Capella has spent years as a silent creative, developing some of the top menus in New Jersey for over a decade. Now, at 35 years old, he’s making a name for himself.

AJ Capella lent his culinary expertise to make Table to Table’s 25th Anniversary Chefs Gala an unforgettable experience. He not only cooked tableside for guests, but was a co-chair. His efforts, and the efforts of more than 25 of New Jersey’s best chefs, helped raise enough funds to provide 4.5 million nutritious meals.

Table to Table, NJ’s first food rescue organization, collects fresh and perishable surplus food that would otherwise be wasted and delivers it to organizations that serve people experiencing hunger in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Passaic counties in Northern NJ. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 200+ partner organizations including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, we touch 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. Table to Table raises all its own funds annually, and last year delivered enough food to provide over 23 million meals.  

Credit: CBS Mornings

Livingston High School junior Veer Agarwal has started the nonprofit ResQFood to help alleviate food waste throughout town.

With the assistance of the non-profit organization Table to Table, ResQFood allows restaurants and residents to donate excess food to those in need. During its inaugural year, ResQFood has partnered with nine Livingston restaurants to take their excess food and deliver it to various local food banks.

Creating ResQFood

After spending his summer volunteering to teach orphaned Indian children English via Zoom, Agarwal

decided he wanted to help his local community.

“After that experience, I knew I wanted a meaningful way to serve the immediate community and to do so in a unique way,” he said. As he brainstormed, he kept returning to the issue of food waste, which historically affects more affluent neighborhoods.

He used the skills he gained in his AP computer science course, taught by LHS teacher Matthew Van Pelt, to create the interactive website and app, ResQFoods.com.

Agarwal shared that three of his classmates volunteered to help with ResQFood. LHS juniors Jack Liu, Parth Jain, and Armaan Mishra, are assisting with logistics, as well as food pick-ups and deliveries.

Current Collaborations

Since completing its first food pick-up in October, ResQFood has begun collaborating with different Livingston restaurants. Currently, Viva Guacamole, Blaze Pizza, Panera Bread, Bagel Nosh, Paris Baguette, Seymour’s Cafe, Sombrero Tacoria, and Bubbakoo’s Burritos all collabo- rate with ResQFood to alleviate food waste throughout town.

Table to Table

After Agarwal spent the summer building the ResQFood website and developing a standard operating procedure for food donations, he and his volunteers realized they could benefit from the assistance of a larger organization. Agarwal then partnered with the community based food rescue program Table to Table.

Heather Thompson, CEO of Table to Table, shared that many local restaurants were eager and willing to donate unused food but “wanted to make sure the donations were being coordinated through an established nonprofit.” The organization was able to help ResQFood register as a nonprofit, obtain a federal tax ID, and provide volunteers with certified volunteer hours.

After her first conversation with Agarwal, Thompson said she felt inspired.

“When younger people like Veer are paying attention to issues in their own communities, like food waste and food insecurity – and actually taking initiative to do something about it,” she said, “I feel like our future is going to be okay.”

Moving Forward

Agarwal explained that in the upcoming calendar year, he hopes ResQFood will be able to “corner the Livingston market” to significantly lessen the town’s food waste. He aims to increase the frequency of pickups from restaurants.

“Once we capture Livingston, we plan to expand to neighboring towns like Millburn and go from there,” he said.

He shared that he is especially invigorated by the enthusiasm of those younger than him.

“We’re passing the baton to the younger generation and we’re sure the cause of food rescue is in safe hands,” he said. “We’re invigorating high schoolers to engage with the community and to start doing so at an early age so they can continue to do so.”

Thompson discussed that while the collaboration is just beginning, there is room for near limitless growth.

“We want to ramp up our volunteer base and grow our food donors in Livingston and beyond,” she said.

“We also see ResQFood as a model for food rescue clubs in high schools throughout New Jersey.”

Thompson shared that one of her goals is for children and teenagers “to grow up aware of the challenges of food waste and food insecurity, but also feeling like they can create solutions, which is what Veer and his ResQFood volunteers are doing.”

Agarwal pointed out that volunteering for one to two hours each week can make a significant difference in donating food that may have otherwise gone in the trash.

“Especially now that many students are getting their driver’s licenses, they can use their newfound independence to do good,” he said.

ResQFood is not solely for high school students. Anyone can volunteer to help. For additional information, email info@tabletotable.com or visit resqfoods.com.

“One way people can help is, once they eat dinner somewhere, to ask the manager if there’s an opportunity to donate through ResQFoods,” Agarwal said. “We’re grateful for any and all food. If they have anything to give at the end of the day they might otherwise throw away, we’d happily take that.”

Credit: West Essex Tribune

Table to Table teamed with one of its community partners Bessie Green Community Inc. for the event.

Two nonprofit organizations came together on Friday to make sure every New Jersey resident has access to nutritious food.

Table to Table and one of its community partners, Bessie Green Community Inc., joined forces to take unused food from Newark Liberty International Airport and donate that food to people in need.

News 12 has highlights from the distribution event.

Credit: News 12 New Jersey

In this episode of Failed Forward, we talk with Heather Thompson, Executive Director of Table to Table, about her work in the fight against hunger.

Heather shares the daily challenges and the feeling of facing an uphill battle against a massive problem that can seem impossible to solve. She explains her approach to breaking down seemingly insurmountable obstacles into manageable steps—learning “how to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.” Heather’s insights on resilience, perseverance, and making a difference one step at a time will inspire anyone looking to tackle big issues with a hopeful, steady approach.

Courtesy of: Failed Forward podcast: Fighting Headwinds in the Fight Against Hunger

Related:

Regular readers of ROI-NJ know we shed light on organizations that are taking steps to confront food insecurity—especially when it’s simple things, like rescuing food that already has been prepared.

Such a thing happened this week when Table to Table, the state’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, announced it has added an airport to its donor list for the first time in its 25-year history.

Table to Table is now rescuing a range of food from Newark Liberty International Airport, including ‘grab and go’ sandwiches, salads and snacks from numerous HMSHost and Hudson locations.

“With three billion meals wasted annually in New Jersey and one million residents experiencing food insecurity, Table to Table is truly grateful to have food donors like HMSHost and Hudson stores at Newark Liberty International Airport joining us to relieve hunger and reduce food waste,” Table To Table Executive Director Heather Thompson said.

“Next time you walk through Newark Airport and notice all the fresh food at these retailers and restaurants—know that every week, all that extra food is being safely picked up and delivered to people who need it.”

Table to Table’s partnership with HMSHost and Hudson, which is part of Avolta, a global travel experience player which operates travel convenience, specialty retail, duty-free, and food and beverage locations in travel venues in 73 countries, soft-launched in late summer.

Currently, Table to Table rescues food from nine HMSHost dining venues in Terminal B and seven Hudson retail locations in Terminals A and B. Plans are in place to grow the program with additional dining venues in Terminal C in the coming months.

Jordi Martin-Consuegra, chief operating officer for Avolta in North America, said the company was eager to help.

“Across our more than 2,000 travel retail and food and beverage locations in North America, there is a tremendous opportunity to have a positive impact in the communities we serve,” she said. “We are proud to partner with Table to Table at Newark Liberty International Airport to help ensure that less food ends up in landfills and more of it finds a way to the tables of those who need it.

“We look forward to growing this program to fight food insecurity throughout New Jersey.”

Fighting food insecurity is easier than you may think.

Table to Table says it rescues fresh, nutritious food to 270+ partner organizations 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, it has rescued more than 109,000 tons of nutritious food—enough for over 311 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 72,000 tons of CO2eq from being released into the environment.

Want to get involved? Click here for more information.

CreditROI-NJ