Rescuing Leftover Cuisine of Los Angeles (RLCLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food rescue organization that aims to make hunger a thing of the past by being the critical link between excess food and the people who need it most. RLCLA partners with restaurants, food manufacturing facilities, and other food-producing entities to divert surplus food to local nonprofit recipient partners. These partnerships, along with the dedicated volunteer Rescuers from Los Angeles, are critical to achieving our mission of feeding underfed people instead of overstuffed landfills.
Branch Founded: 2023
259,734
pounds rescued
216,445
meals provided
Nearly 1 in 4 households in Los Angeles, CA are experiencing food insecurity
Los Angeles is tied with New York City for the highest population of food-insecure residents in the United States.
Rates of food insecurity increased by 41% between 2021 and 2022.
Los Angeles County generates 4,000 tons of wasted food PER DAY.
RLCLA bridges the gap between food excess and insecurity
RLC fills the gap between food wastage and food insecurity by servicing restaurants that want to donate food but may have relatively small donations to offer. RLC has no minimum requirement.
RLC fills this gap by using an innovative and efficient method of crowdsourcing the transportation to the public through a web-only application coded on Ruby on Rails. which allows for a flatter organization that can coordinate the activities of over 1,000+ Rescuers.
This efficient method allows for RLC’s cost-per-pound efficiency to be industry leading at a 10-cent-per-pound average versus the 24-cent-per-pound average across other food rescue organizations.
Who we work with
Join the Movement
Are you a business or organization?
Want to be a food rescuer?
reduce hunger & wasted food
protect the environment
rescue solo or as a team
Are you a non-profit that needs food?
receive free & healthy food
tailored for your needs
save time & resources
Support Our Mission
RLC is dependent on our partners, our volunteers, and our donors to make our mission possible. We invite anyone to join us as a Rescuer, a food donor partner, a nonprofit recipient partner, or a donor. We hope you will consider supporting our efforts by making a one-time, sporadic, or recurring contribution.
Get in touch with RLCLA
Keep up with RLC Los Angeles, CA