Programs:
Food Rescue Operation
 The Food Rescue Operation (FRO) collects donations of unused prepared and perishable food and produce from New Haven area restaurants, caterers, dining halls, retailers, and other facilities, and redistributes the food to local hunger relief programs.
How It Works
Our FRO driver, who is certified in safe food handling, picks up unused prepared food and delivers it in a refrigerated van to local shelters and soup kitchens that serve the food as soon as possible to people in need.
Connecticut Food Bank and its agencies and programs follow safe handling procedures from the Food Safety and Handling Manual of America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network.
How Can I Help?
If your restaurant or venue is interested in donating prepared food, please contact us to arrange for pick up at a convenient time. If requested, we can arrange for regularly scheduled pick ups.
If you are planning a catered event - such as a wedding, birthday party, bar or bat mitzvah, or company picnic - and anticipating having unused food, contact us ahead of time to arrange for pick up at the conclusion of your event. If you have unused food after an event, please call us as soon as possible.
We will provide you with a receipt for your donation, which can be used for tax purposes. Please contact a tax professional for further details.
Donation Guidelines
To ensure that donated food is safe to eat, we require all of our donors to follow these donation handling and storage guidelines:
- All donations must meet health and safety standards set by the local health department
- Foods must come from a health department inspected kitchen
- Hot foods which have been maintained at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above during serving time must be refrigerated or frozen within two hours after completion of serving
- Food must be cold or frozen at time of pick up
- Cold food must be maintained at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below and refrigerated within two hours after completion of serving
- Containers must be food safe and securely closed
- Each type of food must be packaged separately and labeled with contents
- Separate containers must be used for food prepared on different dates and dates must be written on containers
We Do Not Accept
- Prepared food that has been reheated
- Buffet food that has been available for self-service
- Food prepared in a kitchen that is not inspected by the Health Department
- Food that is still hot or warm at pick up time
Liability Protection
In 1996, The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was signed into federal law to encourage donations of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to people in need.
For more information about the protection offered to food donors and to read the full text of the Act, please visit America's Second Harvest.
"Extra Helpings"
In 2006, CFB launched a new phase of the FRO called "Extra Helpings." This unique project solicits “extra helpings” of prepared food, such as pasta or soup of the day, from New Haven restaurants for direct distribution to local soup kitchens and emergency shelters. CFB picks up the prepared food and delivers it to the food program for serving the same day to people in need. This "Extra Helping" from the restaurant provides more food, more consistently to programs that serve large numbers of people. And since CFB knows ahead of time what to expect, we can easily arrange for this food to go where it is most needed.
Hours of Operation
Food Rescue Operation's hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you know you will have perishable food to donate at other times, please contact us well in advance to see if we can accommodate you.
Contact
For more information about Connecticut Food Bank's Food Rescue Operation or to donate, please contact Carolyn Russell, Product Donation Coordinator, at (203) 469-5000, ext. 312, or crussell@ctfoodbank.org.
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