Americans throw away nearly half their food, or about $1.65 billion annually according to a recent study by Reuters. Consumers have begun repurposing food into compost programs and green waste recycling; but little has been done at the commercial level. We believe it’s time for that to change.
We are excited to announce our new exclusive partnership with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC). Robert Lee and Louisa Chen founded this forward thinking company in July 2013. Robert and Louisa worked at a food donation service in college, which inspired them to continue their efforts after graduation.
RLC differs from other food waste elimination programs like City Harvest as RLC doesn’t require strict donation minimums. CEO Robert Lee, “Rescuing Leftover Cuisine was founded on principles that every little bit counts. Even if it’s five pounds of food a day, that adds up and helps out a lot.”
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine is currently available to our New York City clients, but they operate in Washington, D.C., Miami, San Francisco, and Portland. In most of the cities they service, they work directly with farmers and suppliers to donate large portions of food. New York City is unique in that they interact directly with businesses to facilitate pickups due to geographic concentration.
Interested in donating your company’s leftover cuisine? Here is how it works:
- Food handled in a sanitary manner (ie. Use tongs and spoons, no hands) and donate in a timely manner
- Clients contact Zerocater via email or phone with the rough quantities of available food
- ZC notifies RLC
- RLC provides an ETA for pickup
- Food is picked up and donated to a local food bank
In just two months Zerocater and our clients have donated 2851 pounds of food to rescuing leftover cuisine.
We invite you to join us in pioneering this concept throughout the food and beverage industry. We care about food quality and service from start to finish—we intend to improve the entire catering experience.
