—Leftovers

From our founder, Lourdes Juan:

“Back in 2012, I was asked by a cousin to help pick up excess bread from a local bakery that was going to be thrown out. The bakery had a policy to donate food at the end of their day because they would bake more than was needed, every morning, to fill their shelves – people want to buy from businesses with full, aesthetically pleasing displays. The bakery recognized that they didn’t want any fresh food to go to waste, so they developed an ‘End of Day Giving Program.’ When I arrived, there was about 200 lbs. of bread, which basically took up the entire front of the store. My cousin could only take a couple bags worth for the charity he was donating to, so we were left with 100 to 175 lbs. I had no idea where to bring it, but I think the initial shock of seeing that much bread was really eye-opening for someone who doesn’t come from the restaurant or non-profit sector. We took the rest to the drop-in centre, where I knew we could donate food after work hours. When we got there, the gentleman at the loading dock told me they would use the bread by noon the next day – they were serving 3,000 meals a day.”