Food Rescue

The New Life Food Pantry partners with many donors to "rescue" perfectly edible unsold or surplus food and drink that might otherwise be thrown away. You can find our driver and refrigerated truck on the road every day picking up thousands of pounds of rescued food and drink and bringing it back to our food pantry to distribute to needy residents.

Cloverland Dairy became our very first donor of unsold milk; followed by the Food Donation Connection, which established partnerships between us and local convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, and grocery stores that donates unsold/prepared food; carryout and catered food that is ordered but not picked up; produce that is no longer picture-perfect; unsold bread, rolls, doughnuts, and bagels; mislabeled food and drink; and groceries delivered to stores but is not sold by the retailer and donated to us instead.

When the pandemic shut down fast-food and other restaurants, Martin-Brower, which stores and ships food and drink for their fast-food restaurant partners, called the New Life Food Pantry to donate and deliver the thousands of pounds of unsold food and drink sitting in their warehouse that would otherwise have spoiled if not given away. We gladly accepted their kind offer, and the unsold food and drink was donated in record time to residents in and near East Baltimore (the poorest section of the city). As surplus food moves off of their franchise partners' menus, we continue to receive and distribute multiple pallets of food and drink from Martin-Brower totaling thousands of pounds.

Other food rescue partners include Rosendorff's Bakery in Pikesville, which gives us thousands of pounds of unsold bread every month; Tessemae's, which donates salad dressing and produce; St. Vincent de Paul's Beans and Bread soup kitchen, which has donated turkeys, casseroles, and canned goods; and with the Maryland Food Bank, which rescues fresh produce, prepared/perishable food, and other donations from their partners that they donate to us for distribution. As we serve 500-600 residents every day at the New Life Food Pantry, all edible food and drink donated to us is given away and there is no food waste!