OUR forever home

With over 200 volunteers and an ever-growing volume of rescued food, we are determined to do even more for our community. By donating to our capital campaign, you can help us achieve our mission of making a deeper impact.

more space.
BIGGER IMPACT.

Since 2013, Hole Food Rescue (HFR) has led Teton County’s effort to reduce food waste and food insecurity. Our community’s need for free and rescued food increased radically during the pandemic, and it persists as our cost of living skyrockets.

Hole Food Rescue is launching our Forever Home Capital Campaign to raise $3 million to finance and renovate our new home. Additional space is critical to reinforce our impact and permanence in the community. Our Forever Home Capital Campaign will allow us to secure the purchase of the building and cover renovations. This is HFR’s first-ever capital campaign and the first major financial ask of donors. 

Contributing to the Forever Home Capital Campaign reinforces the community’s belief in our mission and secures our ability to serve our neighbors for years to come. If you believe in reducing food waste and cultivating food security, please consider a donation to our forever home today!

Our forever home

Teton county today

Since 2020, Jackson has experienced a shocking 13% increase in the cost of living. Basic needs like rent, food, utilities, and health & child care, have increased even more. 

The cost of living in Teton County is 65% above the statewide average. 

In Teton County’s 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment, 9.5% of households considered themselves food insecure. Teton County School District #1 reported that 20% of children need free or reduced-priced lunches.

These are staggering figures and validation that our programs have become essential for the well-being of our neighbors.

Hole food rescue today

Food rescues and program outreach has been rapidly expanding for the last nine years, and our current facility is bursting at the seams: 

  • we have pushed out a wall for a walk-in refrigerator to maximize food storage 

  • used a gifted horse trailer and storage unit south of town to stash supplies

  • retrofitted our front office for food prep which then forced us to move four employees to rented office space

This year, we witnessed how these “band-aids” no longer work, and worse, hinder our programs. Sprout Weekend Food Bags benefits 122 families in Teton County, approximately 20% of the “known” need. With food rescues at an all-time high and a lack of storage space, we were unable to fully open enrollment to additional families mid-school-year. We are aware there are more families that need our support but are incapable due to our restricted facility.

In 2030, Hole Food Rescue will rescue approximately 1300 pounds of food each day.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR IMPACT

HOLE FOOD RESCUE programs that support our community

Food Rescue –  Daily food rescues fuel our impactful response to food insecurity in Teton County. In 2013, the year Hole Food Rescue (HFR) began, we rescued 33,970 pounds of food. Last year, our volunteers rescued 336,206 pounds. This equates to an average of 920 pounds of food daily and an increase of 890% over the last nine years. Since our inception, HFR has saved over two million pounds of food from landfill. By 2030, we project this number will be closer to five million pounds.

Food For the Community // Comida de la Comunidad (FFC) – By bringing rescued food to where participants live, work, and visit, this direct-to-community model focuses on reducing barriers inherent to traditional food access, such as time, location, language, and choice. We’ve grown to nine locations over the last three years, serving approximately 300 families each month. In 2022, we saw 13,000 individual visits at our various locations, compared to 515 in 2020.

Sprout Weekend Food Bags (WFB) – ​​Currently, 250 children receive food bags to ensure they have enough healthy meals to eat over the weekend. Bags can be given discreetly to a child at school, delivered to their home, or picked up at the Hole Food Rescue Hub. These three options are offered to families to reduce the stigma associated with receiving food assistance. This program has grown 186% since 2020.

Sprout Summer Lunch Program – This program picks up where Weekend Food Bags leaves off, providing free lunches to children possibly facing food insecurity throughout the eleven weeks of summer. In 2022, we provided 7,300 lunches to children - a 16% increase since 2020.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS

we need your help

The new facility provides the necessary space that will enable us to:

  • Rescue more food and expand our most valued programs for the community.

  • Double our food storage with increased walk-in fridge and freezer space. 100 additional square feet of storage capacity enables us to rescue and distribute more food.

  • Provide food for more children through our Weekend Food Bag program. We estimate in the first year, we can impact 200 families during the 2023/2024 semester.

  • Prepare more lunches for children benefiting from our Sprout Summer Lunch program. Operations will be streamlined and more efficient using our own kitchen.

  • Use food to its full potential. Convert excess produce into healthful make-ahead meals, like soups and frittatas in a new prep space and kitchen. 

YOU CAN HELP US MAKE AN IMPACT

  • "Hole Food Rescue has been a game changer for our afterschool and summer programs.  Our partnership allows TLC students to have access to healthy snacks after a long day in the classroom.  They arrive to our programs hungry and HFR helps nourish their bellies so that our team can support their academic growth.  Thanks HFR team!"

    Laura Soltau, Teton Literacy Center Executive Director

  • “I have received food at programs for a few years; I was excited to reduce waste and have access to nutritional food. I also signed up for the school age kids grocery bag each week. Because I have always been treated with dignity and kindness at HFR, I recently started volunteering to coordinate at my neighborhood stop. Seeing neighbors and new friends too access essential food with good vibes is super cool for our whole community.” 

    Sandra, FFC Coordinator

  • “It’s a blessing and great help for many families in the Community. During Covid, during food insecurity times, during times that the rents are not affordable; HFR has been and is there for all. Thank you!” 

    Cristina, FFC Participant at Timbers Apartments

  • “We volunteer and donate because we feel saving food from the trash bin and redirecting it to help people eat is a worthy endeavor. We’ve chosen to live in this community and helping be good stewards of resources is part of being a good neighbor. HFR makes all of us stronger, and that’s a good thing.”

    Capital Campaign Donor

  • “Having been an HFR volunteer for over 5 years, I have seen the organization grow and expand its mission. I truly appreciate the dual focus of reducing food waste in Teton County as well as helping to feed those who are in need. I have been a weekend food bag deliverer for the past 3 school years and have seen firsthand the need for more hub space when I pick up my bags each shift. Our family chose to give to Hole Food Rescue’s Forever Home Capital Campaign because we believe in HFR and the important role it plays in our community especially when it comes to feeding children and families. A new permanent home will allow the organization to continue to thrive and evolve.”

    Betsy Carlin, HFR Volunteer and Capital Campaign Supporter

The Construction & Design Team