The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of the Colorado community, from business, to jobs, to healthcare. For some, the pandemic has made it more difficult to find enough food to eat. That’s where We Don’t Waste comes in.
We Don’t Waste is a nonprofit collecting excess food that would otherwise be thrown away by restaurants, caterers, grocery stores, or any other food service business.
“We make the best lemonade out of every situation,” said Matthew Karm, the Agency and Special Projects Manager for We Don’t Waste.
Making lemonade out of the COVID-19 pandemic is a tall order for We Don’t Waste. Usually collecting food for needy families or other nonprofit organizations who cook food for those in need is a challenging task in and of itself, but now that COVID-19 has hurt so many families, the demand for food is even higher.
Colorado Voices
We Don't Waste
4:30
Published:
A nonprofit food collection company gathers food for those in need.
“When COVID hit, and this state really shut down in March, we received an abundance of calls from hotels, restaurants, and distributors because they had no outlet for their food,” said Arlan Preblud, the founder and Executive Director of We Don’t Waste. “But at the same time, we knew that there was going to be a tremendous demand from the community because unfortunately people are out of work; they had no ability to obtain food.”
We Don’t Waste has also pivoted to help restaurants that were forced to close due to the pandemic.
“We call it Restaurant Recovery, and what that entails is, we go to a restaurant and we receive a donation if they're closing down,” Karm said. “They don't want to throw their food away and there's people that could use that. I call it food gold because it's always high quality.”
“How often do you see things like this distributed to people in need?” Karm said, holding up a case of San Pellegrino Sparkling Water. “This is a different type of comfort; this is a luxury.”
We Don’t Waste has been helping feed people for over a decade.
“2009 is when we first did our first pick-up and delivery,” Preblud said proudly. “We deliver out to about 100 community-based agencies and another 130 through partner distributions, so we're actually the second largest food provider to the nonprofit community in the state of Colorado.”
And the best part is, there’s no cost.
“We don't charge to pick up food we don't charge the agencies that we deliver to. At the mobile food markets, we don't charge those folks anything. When they come through, we provide them the food that they need and that they want,” Preblud said.
Kids are of some of the main recipients of the collected food items. According to the We Don't Waste website, one out of every six children in Colorado is food insecure.
“We provide food to agencies that overall supply about 75 percent of food to children. We have programs with the school districts throughout the metropolitan area,” Preblud said.
We Don't Waste is one of the largest food collection nonprofits in Colorado
Preblud also credits his staff for the prolific production and seamless transition into the COVID-19 era.
“For me the personal satisfaction is knowing that every day that I get up, my staff have done a tremendous job in helping with the problem of food insecurity,” Preblud said. “They’re in and out of the trucks everyday, they’re lifting heavy product and moving it with pallet jacks and forklifts. They’re compassionate, and they have empathy for those that we work with, and that’s so important in this organization.”
Karm is the longest-tenured employee aside from the founder, Preblud, and he had a lot to say about his passion for the work.
“I have never gone home and not felt satisfied that I've made a difference in almost 7 years. Every day I go home shaking my head in amazement and in awe. I get to see so many different aspects of our community that I get to help provide comfort and peace.”
