Washington Greene Realtors® Aid in Distribution with 412/724 Food Rescue

Realtors® from the Washington Greene Association partnered with the 412/724 Food Rescue to gather and distribute items to people with food insecurities in their local counties last month.

Realtors® joined 412/724 Food Rescue to distribute food at the WGAR offices. Realtors®, brokers, affiliates and the community donated more than 3,000 items of food and toiletries, as well as monetary donations, to provide to those in need in the community.

WGAR had additional financial support from a Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® Century of Service grant. The grant allows local Realtor® organizations to help make a difference in their communities during the state association’s 100th anniversary.

412 Food Rescue started in Pittsburgh in 2015 and has been working in the 724 area code since 2017, serving Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The nonprofit rescues what would have been food waste, preventing it from entering landfills by redirecting it to those who are food insecure. A unique aspect of the program is that food is brought directly to the communities, rather than requiring people to travel to a distribution center. Since its inception, 412/724 Food Rescue has recovered more than 14 million pounds of food, using a propriety mobile app to allow people to volunteer to make food deliveries and to alert people who may need food that it is available.

“We don’t have the means to warehouse food donations; we instead focus on collecting donations from our business, manufacturing and food service partners and rely on volunteers to distribute the food to those in need in their communities,” said Sara Swaney, senior director of advancement at 412 Food Rescues.

WGAR President Sheryl Morgan said the association was thrilled with the response by Realtor® volunteers and the donations.

“We’ve seen more people who require additional help in the community since the close of businesses and loss of jobs due to the pandemic,” she said. “Realtors®, brokers, affiliate businesses, along with community members, came through to provide items to help those in need in several Washington County communities. It has been one of our goals at WGAR from the beginning of the year to have a greater presence as Realtors® in our communities through community outreach and we sure had that opportunity this year and I am thankful to all who came through and donated!”

Swaney added, “We’re very grateful all of the business partnerships and the partner organizations we work with throughout the community. Volunteers are vital our work. We couldn’t do what we do without them.”