Food rescue does not involve superheroes in capes. Also called food recovery, it is the recovered applespractice of retrieving edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it to those in need. In most cases, the recovered food is perfectly edible, but not sellable. For example, it’s day old bread or bagged lettuce past its “sell-by” date. Often, it’s in great shape (as you can see in these photos).

The food that recovery agencies pick up is donated by supermarkets, restaurants and farms. In most cases, the rescued food is being saved from the dumpster and, ultimately, the landfill. Food recovered on farms is kept from being plowed under. On farms, the donations often must be harvested, or gleaned, by volunteers.