Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Labriola.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the practice, why don’t you give our readers a few quick bullet points about you and your story.
Second Helpings Atlanta is a non-profit food rescue non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and food waste in the metro Atlanta area by rescuing surplus, nutritious food and delivering it to those in need.
*Second Helpings Atlanta began as a social action project in 2004 at Temple Sinai Atlanta, organized and operated solely by congregants. The vision was to create a vibrant community of food rescuers – neighbors helping neighbors – that would expand in scope and impact over time. The concept was a simple one—volunteers pick up surplus nutritious food from grocery stores, farmers markets, schools, etc. and deliver it to nearby agencies (food pantries, community meal providers, shelters and emergency housing facilities) to distribute to their clients. As the social action project grew and volunteers were recruited from the general community, the number of Food Donors and Partner Agencies also grew. For nine years, a small dedicated group of volunteers operated the organization, recruiting volunteer drivers, Food Donors and Partner Agencies, coordinating the routes, filling vacancies and ensuring that operations ran smoothly.
*Second Helpings grew steadily and ultimately became too large for the confines of a congregational project. In 2012, it became an independent nonprofit and Second Helpings was incorporated as Second Helpings Atlanta, Inc. (SHA), and received its 501(c)(3) status in November 2012. SHA continued to operate as a totally volunteer-driven organization, with many dedicated individuals devoting long hours to the new nonprofit’s operation and governance. In 2014, SHA hired its first part-time Volunteer Coordinator; in 2015, the Board began a strategic planning process and quickly determined the need to hire a full-time director. I started as a volunteer with the organization and was hired as its first Executive Director during the summer of 2015.
*The resulting momentum has been historic. In 2016, SHA grew by over 60% and another 13% in 2017, incorporating several new programs into its operations and consistently rescuing over 100,000 pounds of food every month.
*In 2017, SHA rescued more than 1.53 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food, enough to provide over 1.27 million meals.
*SHA recognized that a key to its success was that it offered a rich, rewarding volunteer experience that had a big impact in the community without having a big impact on people’s busy schedules. Our 90 Minute Model is the cornerstone of our operations, designed to allow our volunteers to leave their home or place of work, rescue food from a Food Donor, deliver it to a Partner Agency and return home or to work in 90 minutes or less.
*SHA continues to use the power of small actions to transform people’s lives.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been an exciting journey so far! We transitioned from a volunteer-led organization to a professionally-driven organization over the past three years and continue to slowly bring on paid staff as we expand the reach of our food rescue network. We’ve grown quickly and it’s been a challenge to keep up with the demand for our donated food and still stay within our relatively small budget. We grew the number of meals we rescued last year by 13% on top of the 60% growth the year before.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Second Helpings Atlanta – what should we know?
We’re a non-profit food rescue organization that uses the power of small actions to transform people’s lives. It matters every day that our growing community of volunteers shows up because thousands of people every day are provided healthy, nutritious food as a result of the efforts of our volunteers.
We rescue nutritious, perishable food (dairy, deli, bakery, produce) & prepared food from over 75 Food Donors & deliver it (free of charge) to a network of over 45 Partner Agencies (food pantries, community meal providers, shelters) who feed the hungry every day.
We use something we developed called our 90 Minute Model, where we connect our volunteers with routes that get them from their home (or place of work or worship) to a nearby Food Donor (using their own vehicle) where they pick up donated food, transport & deliver it to a Partner Agency and return home in 90 minutes or less. We believe we are giving our 450+ volunteers a high impact volunteer experience that has a low impact on their busy schedules.
We focused exclusively on healthy, nutritious food because many of the clients of the Partner Agencies we serve are surviving on diets consisting of mostly processed food which can contribute to serious health issues later in life. Because the food we deliver is free of charge, money previously spent to purchase groceries can be re-diverted into providing more core services, allowing our Partner Agencies to make a bigger impact in the community without the need to raise more money.
We offer a number of programs:
*90 Minute Model:
Looking for a high impact volunteer experience with a relatively low impact on your busy schedule? Donate 90 minutes of your time every month by becoming an SHA volunteer.
*Corporate Kitchen Food Rescue:
Surplus food from corporate kitchens represents a large, untapped source of highly nutritious food and is helping improve the feeding programs of numerous Partner Agencies.
*Large Event Food Rescue:
Our Large Event Food Rescue program rescues large volumes of high-quality food from some of the region’s biggest venues, providing a reliable source of nutritious food to nearby Partner Agencies
*Food For Thought:
Our Food For Thought program helps educate students about the issues of hunger and food waste and provides a menu of ways they can get involved to make a meaningful difference in their communities.
*Employee Engagement:
SHA offers organizations multiple ways they can get employees engaged to support our mission through skills-based volunteer opportunities or the rescue of surplus food, either from their own facility or a nearby Food Donor.
*Adopt a Route:
Organizations “adopt” a route where they pick-up food from a nearby Food Donor and deliver it to a designated Partner Agency on SHA’s behalf.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We wouldn’t be able to do this without the generosity of our Food Donors, the compassion of our Partner Agencies and the dedication & commitment of our community of volunteers. We are also grateful for the generosity of our Financial Donors as they are helping fuel the growth of our food rescue network & the impact we’re making in the community.
Partnerships with great organizations like the Atlanta Community Food Bank (we’re an official food rescue partner). the Mercedes Benz Stadium (we’ve rescued over 50,000 pounds of food from their luxury suites in the past 12 months) and Cox Enterprises (one of our largest Food Donors + they have employees do the food rescues on our behalf) are helping us scale our operations more quickly.
Contact Info:
- Website: secondhelpingsatlanta.org
- Phone: 678.894.9761
- Email: director@secondhelpings.info
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SecondHelpingsATL
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