“It’s a food drive in the most literal sense,” says Angie Lee, marketing, events and volunteer coordinator for FINNEGANS Reverse Food Truck. The food donation truck can be spotted at events around the Twin Cities, and accepts both monetary and food donations that go to local food banks.
The Reverse Food Truck was started by local beer company FINNEGANS, which already donates its profits to hunger relief. Every dollar donated to the food truck buys a pound of fresh, Minnesota-grown produce that is then donated to food pantries around the area. Nonperishable donations go to The Food Group, which will distribute to places in need.
The food truck is volunteer-run and has collected $84,000 in donations. Volunteers do everything from driving the truck (there isn’t a special license required) to explaining what exactly a reverse food truck is.
FINNEGANS has partnered with several local businesses in order to get its message across. Thrivent Financial co-branded the Reverse Food Truck and helped to get a fleet of mini-food trucks in order to handle multiple events at once. Ad agency Martin|Williams, which came up with the concept, offers pro bono advertising services to the Reverse Food Truck, which earned it the Best of Show award for the 2015 Hub Prize competition. FINNEGANS has worked with a handful of other organizations to get Reverse Food Trucks in Canada, Sacramento and Dallas.
FINNEGANS will donate to a food bank of a client’s choosing, or go to local food pantries in need if there is no preference.
