Volunteers use app to rescue surplus food for Denver nonprofits

It’s like Uber Eats for food recovery and redistribution. The nonprofit organization We Don’t Waste created the We Rescue app in an effort to recover surplus food from restaurants and bakeries for redistribution to nonprofits.

The app, operational since February 2024, is crucial for efficiently scaling food recovery, especially for smaller food quantities.

The organization says there are about 400 volunteers on the app and are seeking more, aiming to reduce food waste that would otherwise end up in landfills. 

Restaurants like Linger, with a sous chef who has been involved for two years, contribute by donating excess food during menu changes and family meals. The initiative benefits the community by providing meals and reducing waste, with Linger donating around 20 pounds of food weekly.

Linger is a weekly stop for volunteer Dianne Wilkinson.

“I have arrived at pick-up,” she says.

Wilkinson, a retired flight attendant, is using her social skills to give back. Through the We Rescue app, she signs up for food runs.

“It gives me a chance to be social again,” she adds.

Linger’s sous chef, James Whiting, said before the app, the organization would use large trucks to pick up food, but now, volunteers handle the work.

“I think restaurants unfortunately, create a certain amount of waste,” Whiting says. “Which is why having an app like this that allows volunteers to pick up and deliver to those in need is essential to reducing waste. It’s very beneficial for us to do our best to not put those things in the landfill and repurpose them for meals for the community.”

These are just some of the goods Wilkinson is delivering to a nonprofit.

Wilkinson says she’s “looking forward to seeing some of the people.”

“It’s made it simple for me to volunteer,” she adds. “I get to choose where I want to drive, how long I want to be gone.”

“Hi, I’m Dianne,” she said when she arrived at The Other Side Academy with 40 pounds of food. William, who’s received a second chance himself, now uses the food to prepare meals for the family.

“It means a lot that the community supports what we are doing,” he says.

The program helps individuals dealing with incarceration, addiction, and homelessness, offering a free, voluntary two-and-a-half-year program to help them get their lives back on track.

“Without the community support, it would be tough to do this,” he adds.