Metro Atlanta nonprofit fights food insecurity with bagels

Atlanta – A metro Atlanta nonprofit has found a way to eliminate food waste and help those in need in the community. The Bagel Rescue program began four years ago and has since saved 2 million bagels from being thrown away, instead delivering them to community programs throughout metro Atlanta.

If there’s one thing Erin Stieglitz knows, it’s the difference a good bagel can make.

“Something as small as a bagel means a lot to someone who didn’t have breakfast this morning,” she said.

Stieglitz is the founder and chief rescuer of Bagel Rescue. Its operations connect 50 bagel and confectionery stores with more than 100 organizations helping those in need.

“So we donate to shelters, food pantries, youth programs, senior apartments, street work. So every time I found someone who needed food resources, I wanted to be there for them,” she said.

Her mission began during the 2020 holidays. She originally wanted to plan a breakfast for frontline healthcare workers. Her then 9-year-old son called a local bagel shop and asked for donations.

“He called and they agreed to give us the leftover bagels from yesterday. We set a date, and there were hundreds of bagels left,” she recalls.

That’s when Stieglitz saw a way to reduce food waste and help those in need.

“So far we have saved 2 million bagels, breads and baked goods. We deal with approximately 15-18,000 baked goods per week. That’s exactly what would have been dumped in metro Atlanta if we hadn’t done this work,” Stieglitz told Good Day’s. Lindsay Tuman.

She and her team of more than 150 volunteers visit bagel shops every day to collect what would normally be thrown away, like at Avi Alzada’s Brooklyn Bagel.

“It’s a good thing, it’s a good feeling. You never want to waste food and you never want to waste food. “You spend money on it, and it’s amazing that we can give it to people who really need it and they don’t have to.” Throw it away. It’s definitely a great program,” Alzadeh said.

Bagel Rescue conducts workshops with businesses, religious organizations, youth groups and other organizations to help them pack. The bagels are then delivered to organizations such as First Missionary Baptist Church of Hunter Hill.

“It has been absolutely amazing to work with Bagel Rescue here in Hunter Hill and I will say it has been an absolutely enriching experience. Together we not only serve delicious bagels, but being able to do this within the community has truly been a blessing,” said Yoshina Colbert-Bradford, the church’s director of outreach.

Every Wednesday, the church serves 50 families with food, including bagels.

“When we first started giving them out, it was like the best blessing in the world. People were asking like, “I want apple cinnamon!” Bradford said.

Bagel Rescue proves that something as simple as a bagel can help reduce waste and improve people’s lives every day.

“So I hope that my work will inspire someone to do something small, because all the little things add up to something great,” Stieglitz said.

Bagel Rescue is always looking for volunteers and organizations that would like to help pack bagels. If you want to know more, you can visit their website.