Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1050416
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 72 NOVEMBER 2018 "What's for dinner tonight?" is a common question in households throughout the North Shore. But for people who are homeless or struggling to feed their families, that question carries a heavy weight of urgency, anxiety, and fear, not to mention monotony. "When you're homeless, food is always the same," says Jovanie, a 19-year-old guest at Bridge Over Trouble Waters in Boston, which provides emergency housing, transitional living, and other resources to run-away, homeless, and at-risk youth. Yet food also has a flip side. Anyone who's worked in a restaurant, attended a company lunch, or even given a backyard barbecue understands the sting of throwing away leftover food, especially when our neighbors are going hungry. Enter Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC) Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization that enlists volunteers to recover excess fresh and prepared food from local busi- nesses and bring it to nearby non-profits to feed those in need. "We rescue food every day from reputable restaurants, cafés, businesses, and cafete- rias," says Dana Siles, the New England Coordinator for RLC. (Food rescue is also totally legal, something that many potential donors and recipients don't realize). RLC was founded in New York City in 2013 and has since expanded into 12 states, including the Massachusetts branch which started in 2015, Siles says. Here in Massachusetts, local organiza- tions like the Westin, Marriott, Pret A Manger, Museum of Science, and Boston Opera House donate their leftover food for rescue. RLC volunteers pick up the food, either at regularly scheduled times or sporadically, and transport it to recipients like homeless shelters, food pantries, and other community organizations. Among the donors is Eataly Boston, which started doing donation pickups with RLC in April. RLC picks up food from Eataly weekly on Saturday mornings. It also does "emer- gency" pickups when there's a lot of unex- pected prepared leftover food that needs to be distributed as soon as possible, such as after a special event. / I N - D E P T H / Westin Waterfront Boston executive chef Anthony Dicillo, (left) is an RLC food donor partner. Pret A Manger and the Salvation Army are also partners. PHOTOGRAPH BY DANA SILES (BOTTOM RIGHT)