Volunteer giveaways to the rescue

A nonprofit's useful thank-you gift feeds a need

By Suzanne Worwood

Interview Featuring

Andrew Creamer

Rescuing Leftover Cuisine

Marketing Director

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many nonprofits

According to 34% of volunteer managers opens in new window, recruitment is a top challenge. Rescuing Leftover Cuisine opens in new window, a nonprofit working to combat hunger nationwide, attracts help by showing appreciation with volunteer thank-you gifts. Andrew Creamer, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine’s marketing director, shares how volunteer giveaways have been a game-changer.

Q: What is Rescuing Leftover Cuisine?

A: We’re a food rescue organization, so we work with all types of businesses that have excess food. We pick up food that would otherwise be thrown out and deliver it to nonprofits that are helping people experiencing food insecurity. That includes soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters and really any organization that helps feed people.

Q: What role do volunteers play?

A: They are massively important. We would not be able to do our work without them. We have a range, where some volunteers sign up for an event—that’s what we call a pickup and delivery—once a month or once a quarter. Others do multiple events in a day.

Each event takes between 30 and 45 minutes, so it’s a pretty quick way to make a huge impact. There are about 50 or 60 pounds of food, so that’s 50 or 60 meals that we’re helping provide. We have rescuers, which is what we call volunteers who transport food, in nine markets nationwide, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York. We have about 250 to 300 volunteers rescuing about 350,000 pounds of food every month.

Rescuing Leftover Cuisine is powered by volunteer food rescuers. Meet one New Yorker responsible for transporting thousands of pounds of food each year.

Watch Video opens in new window

Q: How do you recruit volunteers?

A: A lot of our recruitment events are with local colleges and universities. We’ll have a table at a volunteer fair, and our brand ambassador will talk to people about what we do and how they could get involved. We use our promotional products, like tote bags and beanies, to entice people to come over and speak to us or sign up to help. That’s a way we’re able to consistently get new volunteers.

Q: How did you decide which products to use as volunteer gifts?

A: We wanted a few things that would be practical. Tote bags are something folks can use to carry food. They also have a big surface for us to put our logo on and help spread the word about our organization. Being a nonprofit, we don’t have much of a marketing budget, so any way we can help get the word out about what we’re doing is helpful.

When we selected the beanies, we were looking for something practical that people would wear. Some of our rescuers are in colder cities—including New York, where pickups and deliveries are done on foot—so it’s nice to help people stay warm when they’re out volunteering in winter.

Q: Have the volunteer gifts helped?

A: In addition to getting new volunteers by giving away the tote bags and beanies at sign-up, we also used them as volunteer thank-you gifts for those who’d been involved for a while. People were happy, especially those heavily involved. They really have a strong connection to the organization. They’re proud to volunteer, and they’re happy to have some official Rescuing Leftover Cuisine swag.

Other Information