The Upcycle Program

The Upcycle Program is a collaborative program that empowers our nonprofit receiving agencies to create nourishing, cost-effective meals for their food insecure clients by utilizing rescued food. Through this program, ICT Food Rescue provides education and strategic planning support to help partner agencies develop meal strategies that rely on approximately 75% rescued food delivered through our Food Rescue Program and only 25% purchased ingredients.

By working closely with shelters, transitional housing programs, and other organizations that serve meals onsite, The Upcycle Program ensures that unavoidable food surplus is used to its fullest potential. Our goal is to reduce food waste, promote sustainability, and ease the grocery bill burden for nonprofits feeding food-insecure individuals. ICT Food Rescue serves as a planning and education partner helping organizations think creatively, plan efficiently, and serve with dignity.

Within The Upcycle Program, two key initiatives bring this mission to life:

Rescue to Table is a purposeful pairing effort where ICT Food Rescue matches fresh, ready-to-serve unavoidable food surplus with nonprofit partners who serve meals onsite the same day. Much like a farm-to-table model, Rescue to Table brings high-quality food surplus meals often prepared but unsold by local food businesses or catered to corporate events directly to organizations just in time to meet their client capacity. This ensures that perfectly good food is served at its peak, minimizing waste and maximizing nourishment.

The 316 Pizza Project is a creative, full-circle solution to food waste and food insecurity. Every night, Picasso’s Pizzeria ends up with a few high-quality, par-cooked pizza crusts, not from poor planning but from forecasting to meet customer demand. For years, ICT Food Rescue would collect those crusts and deliver them to nonprofit partners. While the intention was good, it often created new challenges. Many organizations didn’t have the ingredients, time, or kitchen capacity to finish the pizzas. We were rescuing the food, but not always making it easy to serve.

So we redesigned the system. Now, through the 316 Pizza Project, ICT Food Rescue pays $11.50 to have each pizza fully topped and baked by Picasso’s, using the same quality and care they provide to paying customers. Each finished 26-inch pizza is valued at $60 and feeds 8 to 10 people. These hot, ready-to-serve meals are delivered directly to local nonprofits serving food-insecure clients. It’s not just about feeding people; it’s about making it easy for partners to say yes to quality food without adding work to their already full plates.

Could we top the crusts using other rescued ingredients? Maybe, but this initiative is about providing consistency. By finishing the pizzas at Picasso’s, we can guarantee every delivery is safe, delicious, and ready to serve. No guesswork, no prep, no barriers. Just warm, comforting meals that are saved from waste and served with dignity. The 316 Pizza Project takes what used to be an imperfect solution and turns it into one of the most efficient, impactful, and joyful food rescue efforts in our city.

Together, these efforts make The Upcycle Program a practical and innovative solution to food waste and food insecurity by building the capacity of nonprofit partners and creatively using surplus.