By Haley Anzures

With 1.5 million pounds of food saved and distributed in 2023, Haven’s Harvest continues to change the lives of New Haven residents and take a small, but crucial, step in reducing the negative environmental consequences caused by food waste.  

Lori Martin and Emma MartinMooney founded the nonprofit as a food recovery program in 2015. Initially a family-based project that involved conducting a weekly pickup of unsold food from a local Trader Joe’s, it slowly grew into a large scale, volunteer-driven operation that focuses on rescuing edible food and redistributing it through direct deliveries to those in need. 

The organization has established strong partnerships with local restaurants, markets and university dining halls in the Greater New Haven area. Establishments such as Olive Garden, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and the University’s dining halls often donate unsold food to Haven’s Harvest.. 

“We’re able to donate any unsold items from the previous day,” Julie Louivis, manager of local food establishment, Whitney’s Donut and Sandwich Shop, told the News. “[Haven’s Harvest] has made a big impact on the community.”

In its earliest stages, the organization faced many hurdles in the quest for reducing food waste. 

Businesses were hesitant to donate, mainly due to concerns about food safety and preservation during transportation. This is why same-day pickup and deliveries are an essential step in the food distribution process for Haven’s Harvest. 

Volunteers can either sign up to take on recurring food delivery runs, or on as needed basis. Both options require that donated items are delivered to recipients immediately after pick up.  

Typically, food waste comes from a surplus of produce or other food items that businesses can’t use or sell. This can be attributed to limited storage, misshapen items or minor blemishes that make them unsellable. Haven’s Harvest allows for these items to be put to use instead of them ending up in the trash. 

“Our organization is one of the ways that we can destigmatize leftover food,” Martin, now executive director of the nonprofit, said “It’s perfectly good food; it just can’t be sold.” 

One way the organization is protected from potential health-related complications that occur through delivery is through the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. This act provides federal protection from civil and criminal liability for those involved in the donation and distribution of food and grocery products to individuals in need, provided certain conditions are met.

Haven’s Harvest falls under these guidelines, and it qualifies for this protection because its donors give edible grocery products in good faith for distribution to food insecure individuals.

As this nonprofit continues to combat food insecurity by distributing resources to those who need them, it is also actively contributing to reducing the environmental impact of food waste by redirecting excess food from landfills. The organization has directly prevented  excess food entering the waste stream and causing around 800,000 lbs of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

[Communities] often think that food waste, since it’s biodegradable, is not an important issue when it comes to waste management,” Castaic High School’s AP Environmental Science teacher Kate Song told the News. “They are not aware of the harmful greenhouse gasses, like methane, that are released when food waste ends up in our landfills.” 

According to the World Wildlife Fund, approximately 7 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if people stop wasting food. In the U.S. alone, the production of lost or wasted food would be able to generate the equivalent of 32.6 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions.

Without efforts shown through organizations like Haven’s Harvest, edible food would otherwise end up in landfills, contributing to throw away culture and climate change. 

Currently, Martin is working on expanding the organization’s location in order to donate more food and aid more individuals in the community of New Haven.

In addition, she continues to advocate and spread awareness about the impacts of food waste, and hopes the nation invests in greater food recovery infrastructure.

“We are only beginning to educate food donors, and even the public in general, that this is important work,” Martin said. “We need to invest in it on a local level, state level and national level —just like we did 40 years ago with recycling.” 

40 percent of all food in the United States is wasted.