If you want to celebrate 412 Food Rescue’s 10th anniversary at its Rooted fundraiser on Saturday, don’t wait!
The event at Rockwell Park in North Point Breeze is 95% sold out with 10 VIP tickets left as of Friday, Marketing Coordinator Cory Clemente said, and the staff was starting to compile a waitlist. The response from organizations, sponsors and individuals has been overwhelming, he said, and the nonprofit’s leaders and staff are grateful for the reaction from the community.
The fundraising dinner to mark the nonprofit’s first decade is inspired by its work of bringing good food that can be brought to neighborhoods where it is needed most instead of dumped in landfills, according to a news release about the event. Clemente said 13 or 14 chefs will prepare dishes with sustainable ingredients they have requested, and the 412 Food Rescue staff is looking to supply those from its many sources.
Promotional materials indicate there will be at least 10 dishes “inspired by rescued and sustainable ingredients.” Clemente said those dishes will include vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.
VIP early admission is set from 5 to 6 p.m., and the $150 charge includes signature welcome cocktail, a one-hour open bar, early access to food stations, elevated dishes by exclusive chefs, exclusive entertainment by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians and a special gift. General admission will follow from 6 to 9 p.m., and the $50 charge covers one drink ticket and access to food stations. DJ Duo Jellyfish will provide entertainment.
The cocktails offered that night include Con Pane, a Cinderlands beer made from donated bread from Pane e Pronto, and a signature cocktail by mixologist Meghan Washington featuring rescued ingredients.
This event builds on the 412 Block Party the nonprofit threw with sponsorship help from Duolingo and Velum Fermentation on the South Side in April. People attended that event for free, and Clemente said the turnout was “grander and bigger than we expected.”
He said individuals, organizations and small businesses tabled at the event, offering information on the services they provide, and many partnerships have sprung from that. “A great kickoff for our 10th anniversary,” Clemente said.
Since Leah Lizarondo and Giselle Fetterman founded it in 2015, more than 24,000 local volunteers have completed over 226,000 rescues, recovering more than 36 million pounds of nutritious food (the equivalent of 30 million meals) and transporting it to a broad array of partners serving food-insecure populations, according to an event news release. Those include public housing facilities, after-school programs and community centers. Together, they have brought fresh food within a 15-minute walk of over 180,000 people in previously underserved areas. Meanwhile, the food waste they have prevented has mitigated 73 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
“We’re excited to celebrate everyone who has been part of this work — the volunteers, the food donors, the nonprofit partners and the financial supporters,” CEO Alyssa Cholodofsky said in the release, “and we’re excited to look ahead to the next 10 years of growing our collective impact.”
412 Food Rescue is the largest volunteer food rescue organization in the U.S., the release stated, and its Food Rescue Hero platform fights food waste and food insecurity in 24 communities across North America.
“We had a theory that people are wired for good – that, given the right tools and support to fight food waste and food insecurity, they would use them to do something incredible,” Vice President of External Affairs Jennifer England said in the release. She has been with the organization since its earliest days. “They have.”
412 Food Rescue operates out of two locations, its office in East Liberty and its kitchen and volunteer space in Millvale.
It has grown and expanded in the past 10 years, and now it has a staff of 43 listed on its website. Clemente said the team has doubled since its inception, which has enabled it to “do grander things and operations on a daily basis.”
That rescue of food comes to about 5 million tons each year, he said, a number that is always increasing. To accommodate that work, 412 Food Rescue developed a strategic plan for 2025-27 that “focuses on building a resilient foundation that ensures long-term impact, operational excellence, and leadership in the food rescue movement,” according to its website.
Prime among the strategic goals listed in it are reimagining the organizational structure for growth and leading in innovation as it continues its work.
It’s all timely with the federal government cutting grants and SNAP benefits, the effects of which are yet to be seen. 412 Food Rescue had some grants that had been frozen, Clemente said, but now that money will reach the nonprofit. It is not as reliant on federal funding regardless, and with all the uncertainty – including the stalled state budget – “that is why we’re driving local support.”
For its part, Clemente said 412 Food Rescue is “investing a lot more in our communities and our staff, trying to really make sure we can take care of as many people as possible.”
He said it wants to “provide assistance to our nonprofit partners in any way we can. We’re really building community, [and we’re] building it chunk by chunk.”
This will be the last big fundraiser for 412 Food Rescue for the year, and some smaller events and efforts will continue through the year, such as Giving Tuesday in December, an online fund drive for regional nonprofits.
The best part for him and the entire staff is the community’s embrace of this 10th anniversary. “The reaction and response has been beyond what we could have even imagined,” Clemente said. “We are really grateful. So many organizations are invested and believe in us.”
For more information on Rooted, go to https://412foodrescue.org/rooted-2025/.
Helen is a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Contact her at hfallon@unionprogress.com.