God’s Pantry Food Bank got its start in 1955 when Lexington resident Mim Hunt felt a need to fight the hunger she saw in her community. She began simply, distributing non-perishable foods from her car. Now the Food Bank supplies not only non-perishables to food pantries and meal programs, but provides baked goods, refrigerated dairy products, frozen meats, and fresh produce to individuals struggling with food insecurity. Much of this food is rescued from groceries and other retail stores as well as food producers and distributors.
Until recently, a large category of usable food still going to waste was prepared perishable foods from restaurants and caterers. Because food safety is a primary concern, it was crucial to create a quick and easy process for getting food from where it was made to the meal provider or shelter that would serve it – a challenge that God’s Pantry Food Bank took on by partnering with Keeneland to pilot Feeding America’s MealConnect program.
MealConnect, developed by Feeding America, connects restaurants with agencies that will serve the extra food and volunteers to transport it. Through an easy-to-use app, restaurants post the food they want to donate, an agency accepts the donation, and a volunteer is contacted to transport the food between the two. Food is cooled to a temperature that is safe and easy to transport, covered with a thermal blanket to preserve that temperature, and delivered in less than 30 minutes, ensuring the food’s safety.
Keeneland, long-time partner and venue for the Food Bank’s signature fundraiser, Taste of the Bluegrass, jumped at the chance to participate and began donating during their 2018 Spring Meet. At the start of the program, Food Bank employees handled all pickups from Keeneland, testing and refining processes so participation would be as easy as possible for everyone. The program was so successful that the partnership between God’s Pantry Food Bank and Keeneland is now a model for how food banks can implement MealConnect.
Since 2018, Keeneland has donated all excess prepared foods during their spring and fall meets – a total of 13,166 pounds so far! This food has provided meals to the clients of 10 agencies in the Lexington area.
Linda Golebiewski, Food Sourcing Compliance Officer at God’s Pantry Food Bank, says, “I credit Keeneland with the success of the program. Without their willingness to pilot MealConnect we would never have been able to rescue over 300,000 pounds of prepared perishable foods in the Lexington area.”
“One of our partners was struggling to purchase enough hot dogs to feed their community. One of the first deliveries they received from Keeneland allowed them to serve steak and roasted potatoes to 200 people that they serve. The food they get through MealConnect allowed them to save enough to purchase a refrigerated truck so they can pick up even more food through our programs and hire a staff member to serve their community more effectively,” says Golebiewski.
The MealConnect program now receives prepared perishable food from more than 50 restaurants, caterers, coffee shops, deli counters, and other prepared food providers.
Marc Therrien, Executive Chef and Managing Director of Keeneland Hospitality, says “Keeneland is proud to partner with MealConnect and the Food Bank to offer fresh and healthy food directly to the folks that need it. This program is very much in line with Keeneland’s culture of giving back to the community and has become part of our normal race meet operation. We cannot think of a better partnership to help us help the community in real-time.”
MealConnect continues to grow, thanks in no small part to the support of Keeneland.
