ICT Food Rescue

Thank you to the Congregation of St. Joseph for supporting ICT Food Rescue’s Food Recovery and Upcycle Programs through the Generous Promise Grant! ❤️

Your continued support helps us keep good food in circulation and expand food donation education across Wichita. We are grateful to have you as a partner in this work!

A whole lot of ICT Food Rescue happens before a single bag of food ever gets in a car. ❤️

What started in 2016 with one woman and an idea is still led by that same woman today. Now, ICT Food Rescue has two staff members helping keep the wheels turning, the operation growing and six programs moving forward across Wichita.

And while you see a lot of the fun stuff here, there is an entire side of this work that doesn't always make it into the photos.

There are food donors to onboard. Volunteers to support. Nonprofit partners to coordinate with. Routes to build. Programs to plan. Phone calls to answer. Relationships to grow.

But there is also insurance to carry. A phone bill to pay. A website to maintain. Technology that keeps us connected. Supplies that programs need. Bookkeeping and financial reporting that help us remain accountable and transparent with every dollar entrusted to our organization.

Those things aren't always exciting enough for a Facebook photo, but they are part of what makes every photo we share possible.

Today, ICT Food Rescue operates six programs: our Food Recovery Program, Upcycle Program, Plant A Row Program, Game To Grub Program, Full Plate Project and Food For Thought Program.

Behind them are two staff members, an incredible team of volunteers, generous food donors, nonprofit partners, funders and a Wichita community that continues to believe good food can do more.

We're proud of what this organization has become. And we're working intentionally to make sure ICT Food Rescue is strong enough to keep showing up for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity for a long, long time. 💙

If you believe in this work too, your financial support helps keep the whole operation moving.

Every gift helps us continue building a responsible, sustainable organization that can keep good food in circulation and keep serving Wichita.

A little Food Donation 101 for your Thursday scroll. 📂♻️

There is always more we can learn about food waste, food donation and the ways good food can stay in circulation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an estimated 30 to 40% of the U.S. food supply goes uneaten.

And food surplus can happen for so many reasons. A conference may have fewer guests than expected. A restaurant may be training new employees, experimenting with recipes or transitioning to a new menu. An event may simply end with more food than was needed.

Sometimes surplus happens regularly. Sometimes it happens only occasionally. Having unavoidable food surplus does not mean a business is doing something wrong. It simply means there may be an opportunity for that food to do more. ❤️

For this month’s Food For Thought, we’re taking a look at the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and the Food Donation Improvement Act, which provide federal liability protections for qualifying food donations.

Swipe through to learn a little more. 👉

And if this sparks your curiosity, USDA has some great resources for continuing to learn:

Food Loss and Waste:
https://www.usda.gov/about-food/food-safety/food-loss-and-waste

Donating Food:
https://www.usda.gov/about-food/food-safety/food-loss-and-waste/donating

Food Waste FAQs:
https://www.usda.gov/about-food/food-safety/food-loss-and-waste/food-waste-faqs

And if your Wichita-area business or organization has unavoidable food surplus, even if it only happens occasionally, ICT Food Rescue would love to start a conversation and help you have a plan in place for when it does. 💙

Learn more about becoming a food donor:
https://ictfoodrescue.org/food-recovery
📧 [email protected]

Pumpkin is here… and so is another Panera Bread food recovery. 🎃🥖❤️

Some of the best food recovery stories happen because people simply make it part of the routine.

ICT Food Rescue coordinates several food recovery routes from Panera Bread. At each pickup, team members package up the surplus that can be shared, one of our volunteers arrives to pick it up, and that food gets right back on the road.

This particular recovery was delivered to New Life Church & Outreach Center of Wichita, one of 19 nonprofit organizations ICT Food Rescue serves throughout Wichita. 💚

It might look like a few bags of bread and baked goods in a photo, but those bags are part of a much bigger system. A food donor willing to share. A volunteer willing to drive. A nonprofit ready to receive. And good food staying in circulation instead of going to waste. ♻️

We’re pretty thankful for every person along the way who makes that system work, including the smiling Panera team members who have everything ready when our volunteers arrive. 🥹

Good food. Great people. One more recovery completed for Wichita.

You don’t have to have surplus every week to have a plan for it. 🥛🥬💚

This box of milk and fresh produce from Tru by Hilton is a perfect example.

Tru By Hilton doesn’t have surplus food every day, or even every week. But when they do, they have a system in place. They give ICT Food Rescue about 48 hours’ notice, and our team gets to work coordinating the recovery.

This time, a volunteer picked up the surplus and delivered it to Union Rescue Mission of Wichita, one of 19 nonprofits we serve throughout Wichita.

And the destination can change from one recovery to the next. Fresh produce and dairy have a shorter window to be used, so our team pairs available surplus with a nonprofit partner that has the current need and can put those specific items to use quickly.

That’s the beauty of having a food recovery plan. ♻️

Surplus doesn’t have to be predictable. The system for keeping it in circulation can be.

Have occasional food surplus at your business? We’d love to help you build a plan for it. ❤️

📧 [email protected]
🌱 Learn more about our Food Recovery Program:
https://ictfoodrescue.org/food-recovery

Three days. One conference. A whole lot of good food kept in circulation. ❤️

Last week, ICT Food Rescue had a plan in place for all three days of the Kansas Water Environment Association - KWEA & Kansas Section American Water Works Association Joint Water and Wastewater Conference at the Hyatt Regency Wichita.

And when wonderful food was left after meals, snacks, appetizers and dinners were served? That plan went into action.

Our team coordinated with conference organizers, the Hyatt Regency team, Chef Ben and his incredible kitchen crew, our volunteer, and our nonprofit partners to make sure this food had somewhere to go.

Through our Rescue to Table initiative, fresh, ready-to-serve food was matched with organizations that could put it to use quickly. Over the three-day conference, food was delivered to Ronald McDonald House Wichita, Mental Health America of South Central Kansas, Wichita Fellowship Club, Inc., and Union Rescue Mission of Wichita.

This is what thoughtful food recovery can look like. It starts long before we know whether there will actually be leftovers. Routes are planned. Partners are ready. And if surplus happens, we can move quickly.

A huge thank you to KWEA, KsAWWA, Hyatt Regency Wichita, Chef Ben and his team, and everyone who helped make three days of recovery run so seamlessly. This conference made an impact long after the tables were cleared. 🥹

Hosting a conference, corporate event or catered gathering? Reach out to our team early at [email protected]. You may end up with zero surplus, and that is wonderful. But if you do have food left, there will already be a plan to keep it in circulation. ♻️

Sure, it’s a photo of food in a bag. But it tells a much bigger story. 🍗❤

Inside are KFC biscuits and chicken that had somewhere else to go.

Every week, one of our ICT Food Rescue volunteers calls KFC to ask a simple question: “Do you have any surplus food today?”

Sometimes the answer is no. And that’s okay!

But when the answer is YES, that volunteer heads their way, picks up the available surplus and delivers it directly to one of our nonprofit receiving agencies.

On this day, the answer was yes. 🙌

This chicken and these biscuits were picked up and delivered directly to Union Rescue Mission of Wichita, one of the 19 nonprofit organizations ICT Food Rescue serves throughout Wichita.

During the summer months, this is just one of 130+ food recovery routes our staff and incredible team of volunteers coordinate and complete each week.

One phone call. One volunteer. One bag of food.

It may not look like much in a photo, but multiply moments like this across more than 130 food recovery routes each week and you start to see the bigger picture. ❤

That’s food recovery.

THIS is what Wichita gardens are growing and sharing. 🍅🌶️🌱

Tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, greens and more. This is just a little glimpse of the fresh, locally grown produce that came through our Plant A Row Program last week!

These beautiful donations were collected from several Plant A Row drop-off locations, including Botanica and Johnson's Garden Centers, thanks to local gardeners choosing to grow a little extra or share a little extra from their harvest. 💚

From there, ICT Food Rescue volunteers picked up the produce and delivered it directly to Bread of Life Wichita and His Helping Hands, where it is shared with neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

Plant A Row is a partnership between ICT Food Rescue and K-State Extension - Sedgwick County Master Gardeners, connecting homegrown surplus with our community all growing season long.

And these photos? Just a little snapshot of what Wichita gardeners are making possible. 🥬🍅

Have a garden producing more than you can use? We’d love to help you share the extra!

Learn more about Plant A Row and find a drop-off location near you:
https://ictfoodrescue.org/plant-a-row

AFTER THE CURTAIN… came food surplus at Roxy's Downtown! 👀👏

Not every food recovery looks the same, and food surplus can come from so many different places.

A couple of weeks ago, Roxy's Downtown , one of Wichita’s local cabaret-style performing arts theaters, had food remaining as changes were happening with their kitchen operations. Instead of letting that food go to waste, their team helped us coordinate a food recovery route. 💚

And just look at what was there! Large cans of queso, black beans and marinara sauce, plus pasta, hot chocolate mix, hot sauce, caramel and chocolate syrups, salt and several other items.

ICT Food Rescue picked it all up and delivered it directly to Wichita Fellowship Club, Inc., one of the 19 nonprofit receiving agencies we serve.

This is such a great reminder that food surplus doesn’t always look the same. It can come from a restaurant, grocery store, catered event, performing arts venue and so many other places throughout our community.

A huge thank you to the team at Roxy’s Downtown for thinking of food recovery and helping us keep this food in circulation! 👏💚

Know you may have food surplus coming up? Give us a little heads-up and we’ll help get it coordinated!
📧 [email protected]