Funded Partner Spotlight: 360 Eats
After graduating from college, Cameron Macleish found himself living in a dumpster diving community in Melbourne, Australia. At first, rescuing food seemed like a major life hack to save money. Soon after, however, he saw the amount of food waste he was witnessing as a major problem – and also an opportunity.
After returning home to St. Petersburg, he launched a cooking show with his mother, Ellen, who is a professional chef. Together, they cooked exquisite feasts from local food waste, turning what was nearly trash into treasure.
“We went viral on a couple of media channels and figured we were onto something,” Macleish explained. “I was working at a local food pantry at the same time, seeing the daily reality of food insecurity. So, on one hand, I was seeing all this food going to waste at the same time as I knew thousands of families in the Tampa Bay area were struggling to access fresh food.”
After a little bit of legal research, 360 Eats was born. Thanks to the Good Samaritan law, businesses can donate perceivably wholesome foods to nonprofits without risk of liability. Macleish works with suppliers like US Foods, Sysco, Fat Beet Farm, Brick Street Farms, and others to rescue 4,000-6,000 pounds of food a week. About half of that he donates to food pantries throughout the community. The other half, he and his team turn into delicious, prepared meals for residents that they serve from their food truck at locations throughout the community such as the James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center, Braiding with a Twist, the United Way Suncoast Resource Center at North Greenwood, and more.
“Having worked at a food pantry, I know waiting in line for food can be uncomfortable for some people,” Macleish explained. “The food truck is a vessel to make it fun and dignified. There’s the mobility piece, as well, as we can remove transportation barriers for some people.”
Sometimes the food they rescue is available simply because there’s too much supply and businesses need to make room for something else. Sometimes light cosmetic damage to outer packaging makes items harder to sell.
With Foundation funding, 360 Eats recently launched its Culinary Cultivators program, through which they aim to provide young adults facing employment barriers with a six-month internship where they earn $20 an hour for 20 hours of work each week. Their first intern, Jack, who recently aged out of the foster care system, will graduate in November.
“The purpose of the program is to help ensure people like Jack develop hands-on skills in a professional kitchen that are transferrable, with a goal of landing a full-time position as a prep cook or something similar at the end of the internship,” Macleish explained.
360 Eats welcomes volunteers and is currently looking for access to a commercial grade kitchen with ample food space. To learn more about their work, visit their website at https://www.360eats.org/.