The Upcycle Program

The Upcycle Program will take surplus fresh produce and other raw ingredients donated by urban farmers, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. and prepare oven-ready meals for nonprofit partners serving the food insecure of Wichita. Our current data is showing that we can sustain upcycling this food surplus into new meals by using 75% rescued food and 25% purchased food items. These items typically include spices, milk, butter, and sauces. Our Wichita State University partnership through the AmeriCorps VISTA program will provide a member to create meals, build partnerships, and create hands-on educational demonstrations working side by side with our current nonprofit partners.

In 2024 these meals were prepared in a rented kitchen space and then distributed. The meals created by The Upcycle program are currently distributed to two of ICT Food Rescues nonprofit organization partnerships : Passageways, a veteran supporting organization, and Wichita Fellowship Club, a substance recovery organization. These meals reduce the grocery bill for these nonprofits and allow them to purchase other necessities for their clients. Going forward ICTFR will take the Chinese proverb approach of  “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. Our experience within this already existing program has shown us that this program can be duplicated within each partnered organization and scaled accordingly. This approach also presents a better stewardship of funds in reducing the overall program cost. 

Each week The Upcycle Program will prepare meals in house at our nonprofit partners in an educational collaboration with the kitchen staff. The goal is to serve our nonprofits partners in the best capacity in the spaces they already produce meals in and educate their on site cooking staff on repurposing food surplus that comes in. Every ICTFR staff member and serving AmeriCorps VISTA member is required to be ServSafe Food Protection Manager certified.