Episode 223: Rescuing Food, Restoring Dignity: How Kentucky Harvest Fights Waste and Hunger
About the Podcast
Today, Clancy speaks with Heather Stewart, Executive Director at Kentucky Harvest. She is a career nonprofit professional who has expertise in hiring and management, fundraising campaigns, marketing, and streamlining operations.
You won’t want to miss their discussion about food waste, food insecurity, and how food rescue models are changing communities. Heather shares powerful insights on why food insecurity isn’t due to scarcity, but rather transportation and information gaps—and how her organization is working to close them.
About Heather Stewart
Heather Stewart is the Executive Director of Kentucky Harvest, a nonprofit dedicated to food rescue. Since joining in 2018 and becoming director in 2020, she has increased the organization’s assets by over 200% and helped divert millions of pounds of food from landfills to families in need. Heather has devoted her career to nonprofit work and brings a passion for meeting basic needs with dignity and purpose.
Discussion Takeaways
- Founded in 1987, the organization has rescued over 88 million pounds of food. It partners with over 80 nonprofits—such as shelters, recovery centers, and children’s homes—to redistribute food from major donors like Papa John’s and Maker’s Mark.
- In 2024, Kentucky Harvest rescued 24% of produce, 10% of prepared food, 27% of meat and protein, 8% of dairy, 10% of baked goods, and other categories of food.
- One of the biggest issues with food rescue is that too many people are still throwing good food away. In the United States, 30% of food is thrown away, a number that could feed most communities with food insecurity issues.
- By partnering with organizations already embedded in communities—like recovery centers and churches—Kentucky Harvest helps eliminate transportation, stigma, and access barriers to food.
- Food waste in landfills contributes more to greenhouse gases than the entire airline industry. Kentucky Harvest’s efforts reduce waste and benefit the planet.
- Heather emphasizes the importance of dignity in food access. Partner pantries often let clients "shop" for food, empowering them to choose what they want rather than receiving pre-packed bags.
- Food dignity means not having to ask and helps everybody to survive and thrive.
#1 tip to improve access to healthy food
Food rescue doesn’t just feed people—it fuels the mission. By saving nonprofits millions, we help them stretch every dollar further to reunite families, support recovery, and strengthen our communities.
Each week on the Food Dignity® Podcast, the Food Dignity® Movement's Clancy Harrison hosts a wide variety of hunger experts and other people making changes on the frontlines. Join us as we dive deep into conversations that will change the way you think about food insecurity.
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