History
Emerald Coast Food Rescue (formerly Destin Harvest) began rescuing food in 2007 out of a modest office inside a Destin seafood restaurant, receiving its nonprofit determination letter in March 2008. With a single refrigerated van and one driver, the organization began rescuing several hundred pounds of food daily from local restaurants and delivering it same day to eight hunger relief programs across Destin and Fort Walton Beach.
By 2010, a partnership with Bay Area Food Bank (now Feeding the Gulf Coast) expanded operations to include daily grocery rescue from major retailers including Walmart, Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Fresh Market. Growing food volumes demanded a larger fleet and broader reach, and deliveries soon extended into Crestview and Walton County.
That growth has not gone unrecognized. Since 2013, Emerald Coast Food Rescue has been awarded twice by Impact 100 of Northwest Florida and has earned the support of numerous prominent foundations and private benefactors.
Today, three 20-foot refrigerated trucks operate daily across six communities — Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Santa Rosa Beach, Freeport, and DeFuniak Springs — serving 29 retail grocery partners. Since inception, Emerald Coast Food Rescue has mobilized more than 22 million pounds of food, equivalent to 22 million meals, delivered free of charge to local hunger relief programs.
Types of Feeding Programs
DH’s refrigerated box trucks secure roughly 4,000 – 6,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy items, breads, cakes, drinks, frozen foods, and non-perishables daily.
Who We Serve
Emerald Coast Food Rescue, formerly known as Destin Harvest, effectively supplements qualifying feeding programs, such as soup kitchens, food pantries and homeless shelters, within Okaloosa and Walton County with free nutritious foods.
Recipient programs include faith-based feeding outreach programs, food pantries, soup kitchens, backpack programs, homeless shelters, low-income afterschool programs, meals-on-wheels, and even subsidized mental health clinics.
Covid and Local Hunger
There are more people in need of food all over the United States than ever before. Meeting this need has prompted new strategies for securing more volume than ever and setting up smart and efficient drive through food giveaways to feed thousands of food insecure families and service workers without jobs.
Become a harvest advocate today!
Our Staff and Board of Directors
Emerald Coast Food Rescue is a small organization making a profound impact on food insecurity along the panhandle of Florida.
Chris Leavenworth
Karl Wiggins
Board of Directors
George Landegger
Charles Morgan
Jackie Lavin
Chatham Morgan
Tarra Destin
Heather Davis
