MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — With millions of pounds of food wasted every year, one Maryland group is working to rescue it and give it to families in need.
It's called Nourish Now, and their mission is to end hunger through food recovery.
Brett Meyers started the organization back in 2011, after spending years working in the restaurant, catering, and food service industry.
“I saw a lot of food waste, and it never really felt right to me. It didn't settle with me properly," Meyers said. "And so… I really just wanted to, you know, make food waste and hunger be its own solutions.”
So he decided to start picking up leftover food that would likely head to the trash and give it out to families who need it.
“You know, like the first food recovery ever did, my Honda Accord was really the whole organization," Meyers said.
Now, it's grown to multiple trucks, locations, and donors, like Nationals Park.
Pretty much every day, they pick up food from places like Nats Park and drive them to distribution points, like Washington Grove Elementary School. That's where WUSA9 met grocery store worker Hubert Avlessi.
“It helps me to save money, because I have to buy snacks for my kid and have some vegetables," he said.
On Thursday, he picked up three boxes -- for his family, a friend, and neighbor.
“It's great to be able to you know, rescue food," Meyers said.
He said in total, they've rescued about 16 million pounds worth, helping to solve a problem many families are newly facing -- like Avlessi's.
“The price of everything is raised now, so with my pay, it’s difficult to pay the bills, so this will help me to arrange all the bills," Avlessi said.
The worry of how to put food on the table now off it, thanks to what would have been waste.
Meyers said their biggest needs are food and funding.
Even with gas prices coming down, they’re still making money tight for groups like Nourish Now that have to drive to pick up and distribute food everyday.
Nourish Now accepts donations through its website here.