La Soupe and Last Mile Food Rescue operate on the same belief: surplus food shouldn't go to waste. Now, the two Greater Cincinnati organizations are coordinating their efforts to better address food insecurity.
Last Mile focuses on logistics. Its volunteers use an Uber-like app to rescue surplus food from grocery stores, restaurants and warehouses, and deliver it to food pantries for free. LaSoupe also rescues surplus food, but its main goal is to transform it into nourishing meals for people.
“Both of us talked about, ‘Gee, wouldn't it be great if Last Mile could lend their expertise to La Soupe, so that La Soupe could continue to really dedicate their time and focus on creating those wonderful meals for the community,' ” said Last Mile Co-founder and CEO Eileen Budo.
This summer, Last Mile will study La Soupe's operations, getting to know their food donors, routes and volunteers. Last Mile will start to coordinate some of La Soupe’s deliveries this fall, as part of a pilot partnership.
“This enables us to really hone our particular capabilities, and in the end, the community is going to wind up with more great food, either that's being rescued and brought to a pantry in its raw format, or they're going to benefit from great additional meals that La Soupe is able to create,” Budo said.
She says that’s important. Approximately 15% of households in Hamilton County don’t have enough food to eat, according to nonprofit Feeding America. At the same time, millions of pounds of surplus food are thrown into landfills in the region every year.
The pilot is set to wrap up at the end of the year. If it goes well, both organizations are ready to expand it.
La Soupe’s Executive Director Emmy Schroder says she hopes the streamlined approach can be a model for other cities, too.
“What excites me about this is the doors that it opens up long term in building a stronger food system,” Schroder said.
The launch of this initiative is funded by Greater Cincinnati Foundation’s Better Together Fund.
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