ABOUT
Longmont Food Rescue
Our mission
is to redistribute nutritious food that might otherwise go to waste to feed people experiencing food, housing, and financial insecurity, while educating local communities about food justice.
What We’re About
Our core values
Through partnerships with local food producers and retailers, farms, and nonprofits, we have created a community-led initiative that promotes food justice and supports sustainability goals.
Increase food security
Be an ally for food justice and equity throughout Longmont and surrounding areas
Provide just-in-time, collaborative food redistribution
Reduce environmental impacts related to food waste
Be good environmental stewards and advocates
By collaborating with local and state governments, businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations that share our core values, we work to close the gap in food insecurity in Longmont and surrounding areas, while simultaneously reducing landfill waste. We envision a food system built on the conscientious collaboration of community members who are committed to a sustainable system of food practices.
A just and less wasteful food system
Longmont Food Rescue is committed to co-creating an accessible food system, founded on respect and dignity for all. We welcome everyone and value the diverse and unique perspectives they bring. Here’s how we do it:
We empower community members to advocate for a more sustainable and equitable food system through educational outreach, and lift up the voices of those we serve.
We invite feedback and new ideas in our ongoing community building activities as we grow our network of active volunteers and provide food resources to any who seek them.
We connect and collaborate with other organizations who share our values, while challenging power structures that limit the free sharing of vital resources.
Join us in our mission to redistribute nutritious food and close the gap in food insecurity in the greater Longmont community.
Why Food Rescue?
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Food waste in the United States has social, economic, and environmental impacts on our society and the planet. Food loss can occur at the farm, in storage, in transit, in the shop, or in the home. Lack of proper harvesting, handling, and storage techniques can reduce the shelf life of food items, leading to them spoiling earlier than they should. At home, poor meal planning and improper storage can also lead to food waste.
Due to this mismanagement, tons of food are wasted throughout the supply chain that could be used to feed those facing food insecurity. Food waste also increases methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that has a warming potential 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide and significantly contributes to climate change.
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While all this food is being wasted, 1 in 6 Americans are food insecure. “Reducing food losses by just 15 percent would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables. Increasing the efficiency of our food system is a triple-bottom-line solution that requires collaborative efforts by businesses, governments and consumers.” National Resources Defense Council
On a local level:
12% of Boulder County residents eat less than one serving of vegetables daily.*
18% of Longmont Families with children are under the poverty level.*
39% of Boulder County Latino children are under the poverty level, which is 4% more than national average.*
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At Longmont Food Rescue, we aim to fill the gaps and get perishable food where it needs to go – just in time! LFR rescues fruits and vegetables from grocery stores, farms, farmers markets, and other local food producers. In addition to vehicle transportation, we use human-powered transportation, ie: bicycles.
LFR’s just-in-time food rescue services allows us to be more agile than larger food banks, which enables us to deliver to our recipients faster. And because of the reduced turn-around time between donation and delivery, more food can be redirected and consumed within hours of donation that would otherwise be thrown away.
Longmont Food Rescue (LFR) formed at the beginning of 2017 and received 501(c)3 nonprofit status (Federal Tax ID/EIN: 81-4920478) as of Jan 7, 2017.
Anti-
discrimination
policy
LFR strives to create an inclusive community in which anyone feels welcome to contribute to our efforts, and we attempt to match each volunteer with an activity suited to their capabilities. In adding new volunteers, board members, and staff, we do not discriminate based on sex, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, veteran status, language, disability, or any other trait or belief.
Longmont Food Rescue (LFR) formed at the beginning of 2017 and received 501(c)3 nonprofit status (Federal Tax ID/EIN: 81-4920478) as of Jan 7, 2017.
Our People
Our Staff
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Naomi Curland
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
naomi@longmontfoodrescue.orgPrior to joining Longmont Food Rescue in 2020, Naomi spent the previous decade in the environmental nonprofit sector, with a focus on food waste reduction and rescue, as well as community organizing with the Transition Town movement and facilitating workshops for Pachamama Alliance and Project Drawdown. In addition to her work with LFR, she is the Board Chair of Sustainable Resilient Longmont and chairs their Zero Waste Committee, treasurer on the board of Colorado EcoWomen, and recorder for Recycle Colorado's Composting Council. Since joining LFR, Naomi has dynamically responded to new partnerships and funding opportunities to expand LFR's reach in the community and increase the total amount of food rescued.
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Amy Buckler Rusterholz
VOLUNTEER & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
amy@longmontfoodrescue.orgAmy joins Longmont Food Rescue after several years in Studio Management and Operations with CorePower Yoga, working with hundreds of teachers and staff across all three Boulder studios. Previously, she served as Academic Administrator for Naropa University's School of the Arts after moving to the Front Range from Chicago where she worked in development and event management with various non-profit arts and social justice organizations. She's thrilled to bring her passion for collaboration and collective action to support Longmont Food Rescue's important work in our community.
Our Board
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Kelly Mahoney
FOUNDER & TREASURER
Kelly Mahoney is LFR’s founder and served as Executive Director from 2017-2020. She now serves on the Board of Directors. You can find her volunteering at our Produce in the Park events with her kiddos, demonstrating ‘practice what you preach’ when it comes to caring for the community.
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Heather Taylor Oatley
SECRETARY
Heather works in the field of public safety and also owns a small business, Mindful Healing Acupuncture, LLC. She is passionate about making a difference in people's lives through her work and has a lifelong passion for hunger relief efforts.
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Gwen Kelbly
BOARD MEMBER
Gwen works in infectious disease prevention for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. With a Master in Public Health and a Master in Health Administration, she is passionate about health equity. Her state-level public health administration experience will assist LFR's local community service by expanding partnerships and programs.
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Jordan Wrigley
BOARD MEMBER
Passionate about food access, Jordan is an Idaho original who made a home in Colorado. She enjoys all the outdoors with her spouse and pup. When not pursuing her passions, she works in the data privacy and health spaces.
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Melanie Graham
BOARD MEMBER
Melanie is a journalist-turned-marketer who has crafted content for hospitals, SaaS platforms, and tech startups. She started working with LFR in 2020 as a gardener donating produce and has since rescued thousands of pounds of food through LFR volunteer work. As a marketer, Melanie brings skills in copywriting, SEO, and multimedia content distribution to broaden outreach and awareness of LFR's mission.
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Jennifer McCarthy
BOARD MEMBER
Jennifer McCarthy holds a deep passion for social justice and equity that goes back to her roots in the South. Experienced in publishing, radio, literacy counseling, public speaking, and nonprofit program management, as well as a former food writer for a regional magazine, she views food scarcity as a growing issue that needs a matrix of responsible storytelling, partnership building and deep appreciation for volunteers who serve.
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Sable Cofrin
BOARD MEMBER
Sable spent the last five years working at The Inn Between of Longmont, which provides supportive housing and resources to members of our homeless community. She has now transitioned into the private sector but uses her extensive experience in the non-profit sector to help LFR support food equity and distribution on a larger scale.
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