Community Food Rescue

NEW LEADERSHIP

Manna designed Community Food Rescue (CFR) as a first-of-its-kind effort to improve and scale up food rescue and distribution throughout Montgomery County.  Inspired by a student-run campus food recovery program at the University of Maryland, College Park, the initiative is an example of the powerful impact of concerned citizens whose efforts prompted the Montgomery County Council to create a Food Recovery Working Group and for the County government to invest steady financial resources in CFR’s creation and growth since 2012.  

Manna facilitated CFR for over a decade, building the network to include over 400 donors, food providers, and volunteers that rescued over 14 million pounds of food since its inception.  

In January 2026, the Community Food Rescue contract, managed by the County’s Office of Food Systems Resilience was transitioned into a series of grant programs to support the expansion and diversification of food recovery in response to an ever increasing need for food donations among the food assistance providers.  

While Manna will remain a partner in this collaborative effort, Community Food Rescue will continue under the leadership of the Montgomery County Food Council and the Office of Food Systems Resilience.  

You can read more about the history of CFR and the new direction in this County press release.  

If you are interested in finding out more about the County’s Community Food Rescue initiative, contact the Food Council, info@mocofoodcouncil.org 

The communityfoodrescue.org website is in transition but still contains lots of useful information about how to get involved as a donor, volunteer, or recipient.