Food Donors
Do you have excess, freshly prepared foods?
We can help with that! We are partnered with Food Rescue US, a third-party provider that pairs food donations with trained volunteers that transport fresh food surplus to soup kitchens and other distributors to feed hungry people.
Here’s how it works:
- We schedule pick-up at your restaurant/event/church campus location
- You are matched with a group of Feeding Charlotte volunteers and a pick-up is scheduled
- Volunteers arrive to collect surplus food and load it onto our truck in compliance with food safety guidelines
- Volunteers deliver the food to local food distributors like soup kitchens and local churches who directly feed the hungry
Interested? Let's Talk
Our Feeding Partners
Food Donor FAQs
We accept fresh or frozen meals that have been prepared and handled in accordance with state and local food handling guidelines. There are many different wholesome foods you can donate. Donating food that is no longer suitable for consumption or has not been handled according to the above-mentioned guidelines puts your organization at risk. Food donations we don’t accept: food that has been served, food from a personal residence, bread or desserts unaccompanied with protein-rich meals, packaged foods (for donations of canned/boxed/packaged/shelf-stable groceries, please consider Second Harvest Food Bank or Loaves and Fishes.)
There is no maximum donation size, however, we do prefer that your donation is enough to feed either 20 people or at least 20 pounds.
Every volunteer handling food will have access to food safety instruction specifically for food recovery and must pass a food safety test prior to participating. They will not be granted access to the application until they pass this in-depth examination. In addition, reporting will detail the time of and location of pickups and drop-offs so you know your donation was handled safely.
If your donation does not receive a match, please hold it in your walk-in until the next morning and try to match it again. If you are still having trouble matching your donation to a food runner or agency, please contact Feeding Charlotte directly (704-287-0343).
The number of pounds you have donated and what agencies received your food donation will be available to you through the application. If you would like any additional information please contact the administrator.
In order to donate to an agency, you must be a permitted food facility. There are many ways individuals can help end hunger, unfortunately, we cannot accept individual donations.
Currently, food donors are eligible for both general tax deductions, as well as enhanced tax deductions which provide important financial incentives for food donation, encouraging all eligible businesses to donate surplus food. All donors will receive a tax receipt at the end of each fiscal year.
The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act provides liability protection for food donors, and North Carolina’s Immunity from Liability for Food Donations law provides additional liability protection to businesses and nonprofits in the state
Let's Talk
“If you’re going to throw it away, why not give it to someone in need? It’s a simple equation.”