Researchers have determined that about 40 percent of the food produced in the United States goes to waste. At the same time, there are many millions of Americans who are dealing with food insecurity or outright hunger.
There is, fortunately, a network of non-profit organizations that accept donations of food that otherwise might go to waste, providing nutrition for people in need while reducing the environmental impact of surplus food dumped into landfills.
Chicago Food Rescue, launched by Jake Tepperman in September 2024, is one of the newest of these, and it has made a rapid impact. They report that the non-profit organization in 2025 collected more than 250,000 pounds of food that otherwise might have gone to waste and distributed to social service organizations to provide nutrition to those in need.
And they have done all this using all volunteers for pickups and deliveries. Learn more, and meet Jake and Hannah Roucher (Chicago Food Rescue director of food recovery) in this Local Food Forum article.
Winter Market Season Enters the Home Stretch
With Opening of Outdoor Market Season in Less Than a Month
I'm certainly delighted by this stretch of mid-springlike temperatures, and I'm sure many of you are too. While a return to more normal March temperatures is expected starting Tuesday, most days in the 10-day forecast are showing temps in the 40s, and there isn't a polar vortex in sight.
As of this writing on Monday (March 9), we are down to 11 days before the first day of spring and less them a month before Chicago's Green City Market's kicks off the outdoor market season at its Lincoln Park flagship location on Saturday, April 4.
With a number of indoor markets closing for the season by the end of month, let's take advantage and catch them while we can. Use Local Food Forum’s Winter Market Tracker to find a market near you.