By Vina Berger

Food rescuers Jeff Schwartz and Virginie Forget stood outside the Trader Joe’s on Boylston Street  recently, gingerly stacking boxes of carefully packaged groceries into the trunk of Forget’s car.

Containers labeled “fresh fruit” were stacked atop dozens of eggs, until they filled the entire trunk. As Schwartz and Forget closed the trunk, it was difficult to miss the eye-catching coral Food Rescue US-Boston bumper sticker, designating that this load was more than just a large grocery haul.

It was part of a salvage program directly benefiting and feeding the community.

“We are a bread basket to ourselves and could be to the world,” said Schwartz.

Food Rescue US, founded in 2011, is a national volunteer-based nonprofit whose mission is to combat food insecurity and food waste by recovering donated food from cafes and grocers that would normally be tossed away and giving the times to organizations that serve the needy, such as housing shelters and food banks.

The program operates at 51 sites in 25 states plus Washington, DC.  The local program serves communities from Boston to Sharon.  

Food waste is the leading material in US landfills and the cause of 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.  

Data also show that food insecurity affects more than one in three Massachusetts households, about 2 million people, according to Project Bread, a nonprofit that works to eradicate hunger.

Schwartz said food insecurity is an ongoing issue in Boston, and many people who learn about Food Rescue US-Boston “are shocked” to find out how much food gets wasted.

Forget, the new director of Food Rescue US Boston, said she was drawn to the grassroots nature of the organization and its critical mission.  

A native of Paris, Forget recalled going to the farmers market weekly and buying fresh foods that are absolutely necessary. She came to the East Coast for her MBA and left to work in the food industry in California, where she said she witnessed food waste firsthand. When she returned to the region after the Covid-19 pandemic, she said she sought volunteering roles focused on combating food waste.

“People aren’t aware of what a big problem it is,” Forget said, adding that 46 % of food waste in Boston is caused by people who buy far more food than they can consume weekly.

They let them “rot in their refrigerators,” she said.  

Forget joined Food Rescue US-Boston in 2023, after meeting with former director Charlie Burns, she said. She took over Burns’ role in February.

At Trader Joe’s recently, Forget and Schwartz loaded groceries into Forget’s car that were driven to Boston Rescue Mission, a housing shelter near downtown.

Schwartz said he found out about the local Food Rescue program through his wife Nancy and was “astonished” by how much food gets wasted.

Schwartz, who has had one leg amputated, said that lifting a fully stuffed cardboard box of produce can be “a bit much sometimes,’’ but he gets help from Trader Joe’s staff and other volunteers.

“People at both ends are extraordinarily helpful,” he added.

The program also uses an app that allows volunteers to check when a “rescue” is requested and when a delivery is complete.  

Both Schwartz and Forget said their work gives them a sense of purpose, while also building a community of mission-minded volunteers.

As Forget scrolled through the app recently, her phone rang with fellow rescuer Ann DeBiasio on the line.

DeBiasio asked if Forget could join her and Schwartz at Levain Bakery on Newbury Street, which had a surplus of products to donate.

DeBiaso said she moved to Boston in August from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and wanted something to do after her  retirement. A former food pantry volunteer in Worcester, DeBiasio is passionate about giving back to her community. .  

Forget said she counts on word-of-mouth and the coral stickers to raise awareness about her program. She is also planning to expand rescue operations to other neighboring towns.

This story is part of a partnership between The Independent Newspaper Group and Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.