Robert Lee launched Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, in New York City in the summer of 2013,a nonprofit organization that targets both the prevention of quality food waste and putting an end to hunger. Lee knew the struggle to put food on the table at a young age… his parents were both Korean immigrants who had been successful in Korea but once they moved to America the language barrier made it difficult for his parents to make ends meet.
After graduation, Lee decided to accept a job offer from J.P. Morgan, while working part-time on launching RLC. Lee knew his passion was to dedicate all of his time and effort to his charity organization. But after some of his professors advised against him working full-time on his non-profit, he decided the best strategy would be to learn from a for-profit and gain financial security to help him pursue his passion and make RLC successful.
Since the debut of the RLC in New York City, the venture has partnered with more than 30 local restaurants and markets to secure food donations. Volunteers deliver donations to homeless shelters across the city and more than 45,000 pounds of food, at the cost of just 10 cents per pound.
Lee has high hopes for the growth of the organization in 2015 since they have had 100-200 new volunteers joining RLC each month.
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Photo credit Thomas Xu
