Zilch. Feed More. Waste Nothing.
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What is Zilch?
Our work is never done, so we continue to innovate and seek additional opportunities to feed more and waste nothing. That’s where the idea of our new program called Zilch takes root. The idea is simple but embodies our mission: No hunger. No waste. Nothing. None. Zilch!
Zilch unties the knot that links waste and want
Perfectly good food gets stranded in the no man’s land of waste because it doesn’t meet the cookie cutter standard, it’s near a best-by date or has some blemish. Once this food is stranded, it ends up in a landfill. We want to change that.
We want food waste to be Zilch
It’s in our DNA to turn mistakes into opportunities. Food rescue has always been at the heart of that. With your help, food that was once stranded can mean everything to the people who need it.
There are a million tons of food wasted every year in Washington.
A third of that is edible.
- Many generous partners pick up the phone and call when they have a product that doesn’t meet the restaurant or retail standard. Partnerships like these ensure every meal matters and no food is wasted.
- Food is stranded all the time on trucks or at Distribution Centers throughout the Second Harvest service territory. Sharing the solution of Zilch with truckers and wholesalers is critical.
- Zilch rapidly recovers stranded food and preps it for distribution. The significant amount of food waste is a huge opportunity for Second Harvest to make an impact.
Innovative solutions
Zilch is zapping the logjams that separate food stranded from our distribution pipeline. We recruit volunteers to zip this stranded feast to people in need or local distribution networks serving people facing hunger, zilching waste in our community.
Skinny pigs
While it’s our job to make sure that food finds a home, anything that can’t be distributed for consumption by people is redirected to local composters or animal feeders. We do everything in our power to keep food out of the landfill and we joke with one of our farmer partners Lyle that we want his pigs to be skinny.
Show your support
Whether you’re a donor, farmer, processor, distributor, trucker, or an advocate for a waste-free, hunger-free world, Zilch welcomes your support. Let’s work together to feed more and waste nothing.