CINCINNATI (WKRC) – As the final day of Taste of Cincinnati ends on Monday night, there will be hundreds of pounds of food that won’t get eaten.

Taste of Cincinnati highlights some of the city’s best offerings when it comes to food, but given the uncertain weather and other variables when it comes to the number of people attending, there’s no way for a restaurant or food truck owner to know exactly how much food to bring.

That’s where the nonprofit Last Mile Food Rescue comes in. Its volunteers will go around and collect a lot of that unused food to make sure it goes to help the community and not to waste.

We’re not talking about the food that people throw away when they’re full; we’re talking about what the trucks and restaurants have on hand to make the meals.

Last Mile Food Rescue Food Donor Solicitation Manager Eric Hyden said things like buns, lettuce, and other produce can be saved.

“When it comes to events like the Taste of Cincinnati, there are all kinds of food that are leftover, whether that’s hot food or raw ingredients. As long as it hasn’t been out for the public to serve from and we can cool it down safely, it can be rescued,” Hyden said.

That’s where Last Mile Food Rescue comes in. The nonprofit works to keep the unused food out of the trash. It doesn’t serve the food itself; Hyden said the rescue is like a food logistics organization to get the food where it can help the most.

“Whether it’s restaurants, grocery stores, and we get, you know, good food that otherwise would end up in the landfill. [We] make sure that it gets to an agency that can properly use that and that gets it in the hands of the people that need it most in our community,” Hyden said.

Hyden said the organization works with more than 100 agencies around the city.

“Whether they’re a large agency or a small agency, we know what kind of food they can accept and what kind of you know, the community they serve. So, we make sure that they get the right amount of the right kind of food,” Hyden said.

Hyden said not only is this work helping to feed the needy folks in the community, but it’s also helping the environment by keeping the food out of landfills.

They won’t know until they’re finished collecting, but Hyden said they’re hoping to rescue about a thousand pounds of food. That amount could then be turned into as many as 800-900 meals to feed needy folks in the community.

Last Mile Food Rescue is always looking for volunteers to help save food and serve the community.

To learn more about how you can help keep food in the Tri-State from going to waste, click here.