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Past

Aloha Harvest was founded by the Hauʻoli Mau Loa Foundation in 1999. The foundation saw the volume of local food waste and a growing population of homeless people – as well as the emergence of food rescue organizations 

across the country.

 

They conducted a feasibility study that considered the unique challenges surrounding food insecurity and waste in Hawaiʻi and engaged in discussions 

with potential food donors, recipients, and community leaders. 

The outcome was Aloha Harvest. 


Hauʻoli Mau Loa based the Aloha Harvest model on City Harvest (New York), a highly successful and internationally replicated food recovery system 

developed in 1982. 

Present

Aloha Harvest is the largest food rescue and redistribution organization in Hawaiʻi, getting quality excess food into stomachs instead of landfills. Free of charge and free of liability, we pick up quality excess food from donors (ex: wholesale distributors, grocery stores, restaurants, hotels) and redistribute it to recipient agencies feeding the hungry (ex: homeless shelters, social services, food pantries).

In 2022, we worked with 414 food donors and 148 recipient agencies to redistribute over 3 million pounds of good food that would have otherwise been wasted!


We play a critical role alongside food banks and food pantries in the fight against hunger. Aloha Harvest does not store any food. We pick up perishable and nonperishable surplus food from donors and deliver it the same day (free of charge) to social service agencies, who in turn, prepare and distribute the food to those in need.

We have been doing this work since 1999 and are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Meet Our Team

Future

  • Improve data collection processes to better understand our impact on the health of community members and the environment, and in turn set better goals.
  • Assess and improve the quality of food we rescue, including a push for more donors of fresh, local produce to contribute to better health for the individuals we serve.
  • Build an expanded, sustainable volunteer force. This includes the launch of ʻaiRescue, planned for 2021. ʻaiRescue will be a new crowdsourcing app that empowers community members to participate in everyday food rescue.
  • Increase efforts in education, advocacy, and community engagement with a focus on reducing waste at the consumer level, which is currently 43% nationwide, and on policy advocacy that will extend the capacity and reach of all food rescue programs.