Joe Burrow Foundation, Hocking College launch 740 Rescue Kitchen

ATHENS, Ohio — On the evening of Friday, April 11, a unique celebration took place at the Hocking College Student Center in Nelsonville. Attendees at the first-ever “From Surplus to Supper” event enjoyed food, drinks and live music while ushering in the official launch of Hocking College’s 740 Rescue Kitchen. 

Spearheaded by the Joe Burrow Foundation, the kitchen has been made possible through a collaboration between the foundation, Hocking College, La Soupe, Bellisio Foods, the Wassertrom Company, and numerous other partners. The initiative’s focus is to reduce food waste while providing free, nutritious meals to those in need.

“The Joe Borrow Foundation’s motto is ‘Do good,’ and they had this idea of feeding people in southeast Ohio,” explained Ginger Gagne, coordinator of the 740 Rescue Kitchen.

Food waste is an environmental and economic problem. Food waste contributes to landfill overflow and produces carbon dioxide and methane, both powerful greenhouse gases. According to 740 Rescue Kitchen, Ohioans generate 1.5 million tons of food waste per year, accounting for up to 40% of all waste disposed.

At the same time, nearly 1.7 million Ohioans — including over 505,000 children — don’t have enough to eat, according to Feeding America. Athens County’s food insecurity rate of 16% is well above the state average of 11.5%.

“The amount of food waste that I’ve learned about since I started this job is embarrassing,” said Gagne. “It feels more like a crime to waste all that food when our level of hunger is out of control.”

The 740 Rescue Kitchen will take surplus food from distributors, grocery stores, universities, farms and other producers, and turn it into nutritious soups and meals for community members facing food insecurity. The meals will be distributed through schools, senior centers, local shelters, food pantries, and community organizations.

The Joe Burrow Foundation was already working with La Soupe, a large-scale rescue kitchen in Cincinnati, to bring food to the people of southeast Ohio, but the foundation saw an opportunity for a bigger, longer-lasting impact in the region. 

According to Gagne, the Burrows approached Hocking College with the idea of opening a local rescue kitchen. 

“Jarrod [Tudor, Hocking’s executive vice president] was just passionate about it, he really wanted it to work,” Gagne said. “He worked with Sam Taylor, our grant manager, and wrote a bunch of grants and had a lot of conversations with lots of folks.” 

In November 2024, a groundbreaking for the kitchen took place at the Hocking College Lodge in the former fermentation lab. The college has been under the tutelage of La Soupe, but is now turning the corner to become an independent operation.

The 740 Rescue Kitchen will also provide educational opportunities for volunteers and students on food sustainability.

“As the coordinator of this project and this initiative, part of my job is to educate people,” Gagne said. “We’ll be going into schools and talking to elementary, middle and high school kids, teaching them how to look at food differently.” 

On a broader level, the 740 Rescue Kitchen will aim to expand partnerships with waste management companies to increase food composting, and work with policymakers to advocate for landfill diversion programs and composting incentives. They hope to provide support for the development of municipal composting, as well as encourage local businesses and institutions to donate surplus food instead of discarding it.

“Since grants can be iffy at this time, we’re counting on private donations and working with the community and local organizations. We also want to network with the food bank and food pantries so we’re not taking food from wherever their sources are, but we’re adding to the network,” said Gagne. “We’re all doing the same good work, so we need to collaborate, work with this mission and get this job done.”

For more information on volunteering with the kitchen, see here; to donate, visit here.