Montgomery County is increasing initiatives to tackle food waste and hunger. The Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR) has launched the next phase of its Food Recovery Network strategy, focusing on enhancing the system’s infrastructure and coordination. Additionally, funding is being provided to community partners that redistribute surplus food to residents in need, according to Montgomery County Government.
Currently, the food recovery program serves around 106,000 residents each month, while approximately 35% of County residents experience some level of food insecurity. The collection of unsellable but safe food provides support to residents and contributes to the County’s climate goals by reducing waste. Over the past 15 years, $3 million has been invested in the program to expand its capacity, resulting in improvements such as refrigerated vehicles and shared chilled storage units, which help preserve perishable goods and were funded by the OFSR.
The new measures include grant programs introduced by the OFSR, such as the Food Recovery Network Infrastructure (FRNI) Grant Program, which allocated $306,000 to enhance the food rescue network’s storage and transportation capacity, and the Community Food Assistance (CFA) Grant Program, which provided $428,202 to organizations involved in food recovery. These funds are intended to support existing operations and help the network respond to emergencies and changing conditions.
Manna Food Center and the Community Food Rescue (CFR) program, which has recovered nearly 14 million pounds of food since 2012, helped establish the foundation for this initiative. According to Heather Bruskin, director of OFSR, the program builds on this foundation by using food resources efficiently to meet community needs and reduce the environmental impacts of food waste. These efforts illustrate how targeted investments and community partnerships have enhanced the network’s capacity to serve residents and minimize ecological effects.
The Food Recovery Collaborative now provides a platform for stakeholders to collaborate, share resources, and engage in collective problem-solving. This framework supports the operational efficiency and effectiveness of Montgomery County’s efforts to address both food waste and hunger. Elizabeth Teuwen, co-executive director of the Montgomery County Food Council, stated that the Council is partnering with the Office of Food Systems Resilience to launch the Collaborative, ensuring that food recovery organizations, assistance providers, and experts work together to improve service delivery. Additional information about these collaborative efforts is available through OFSR.
