About Us

Join us on the road to save good food from ending up in the landfill and eliminate food insecurity

  • White Changemaker Icon – Last Mile Food Rescue

    Empower local change-makers

  • Agency Resources Icon – Last Mile Food Rescue

    Help agencies conserve key resources

  • White Fight Hunger Icon – Last Mile Food Rescue

    Provide food to those who need it most

Doing the Work

40% of food produced is wasted, while 1 in 5 people face food insecurity. This is a solvable problem, and Last Mile Food Rescue is here to make it happen. We use technology and volunteer power to rescue good food before it’s wasted and connect it to the nonprofits feeding our community.

  • Over 11 million pounds of excess food saved since 2020
  • 9 million meals provided since 2020
  • Solving the food insecurity gap takes rescuing just 25% of wasted food

Together, we’re reducing food waste, protecting the environment, and making sure everyone has access to fresh, healthy food.

Our Team

Eileen Budo Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Eileen Budo Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Eileen Budo

Chief Executive Officer
Julie Shifman Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Julie Shifman Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Julie Shifman

Co-founder, Vice President of External Relations
Benita Capers Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Benita Capers Personality Smile - Last Mile Food Rescue

Benita Capers

Senior Manager, Dispatch Operations and Data Analytics
Andrea Suto Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Andrea Suto Personality Fun - Last Mile Food Rescue

Andrea Suto

Last Mile Market Manager
Crystal Cottrill Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Crystal Cottrill Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Crystal Cottrill

Senior Manager, Relationships & HR
Erik Hyden Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Erik Hyden Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Erik Hyden

Food Donor Solicitation Manager
Ellen Stedtefeld Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Ellen Stedtefeld Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Ellen Stedtefeld

Director of Projects
Beth Voorhees Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Beth Voorhees Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Beth Voorhees

Marketing Director
Deana Rimes Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Deana Rimes Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Deana Rimes

Food Rescue Process Coordinator
CJ Handley Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue CJ Handley Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

CJ Handley

Driver
Sherman Parnell Professional - Last Mile Food Rescue Sherman Parnell Personality - Last Mile Food Rescue

Sherman Parnell

Dispatch Manager

Our Board

Tom Fernandez - Last Mile Food Rescue

Tom Fernandez

Co-Founder of Last Mile Food Rescue & Ex-officio Board Member
Neil Tilow - Last Mile Food Rescue

Neil Tilow

Founder, Parkway 3.0 Consulting (Former CEO, Talbert House)
Jodi Geiser - Last Mile Food Rescue

Jodi Geiser

Board Chair, Last Mile Food Rescue, and Partner-Retired, EY
Jenifer Moore - Last Mile Food Rescue

Jenifer Moore

Corporate Affairs Manager, Kroger
Matt Fischer - Last Mile Food Rescue

Matt Fischer

Founder and CEO, Curiosity
Bill Goldberg - Last Mile Food Rescue

Bill Goldberg

CEO Investor, W. Alexander Group
Hank Kerschen - Last Mile Food Rescue

Hank Kerschen

Board Secretary, President, St. Elizabeth Provider Network
Deon Mack - Last Mile Food Rescue

Deon Mack

Cincinnati Police Seargant
Andrew Cron - Last Mile Food Rescue

Andrew Cron

Chief Data Officer, Invafresh
Aaron Vennemeyer - Last Mile Food Rescue

Aaron Vennemeyer

Brand Director, Procter & Gamble
Eleanor Haussler - Last Mile Food Rescue

Eleanor Haussler

Board Treasurer, Partner-Retired, Deloitte
Pete Blackshaw - Last Mile Food Rescue

Pete Blackshaw

Founder & CEO, BrandRank.AI
Melissa Stevens - Last Mile Food Rescue

Melissa Stevens

Executive VP & CMO, Fifth Third Bank
Chai Nadig - Last Mile Food Rescue

Chai Nadiq

Founder & Ex-CTO, LiquiDonate
Team Photo - Last Mile Food Rescue in Cincinnati

Our Story

It all started with one simple belief: Good food belongs to people, not landfills.

Inspired to tackle both food insecurity and food waste, Tom Fernandez and Julie Shifman joined forces to launch Last Mile Food Rescue, with the vision of connecting surplus food to those in need. They had the passion and drive, but they needed a logistics expert to make it happen. Enter Eileen Budo, who joined the leadership team from day one to turn this vision into reality.

With over 20 years of logistics experience at Procter & Gamble, Eileen brought invaluable expertise in supply chain management and efficiency, helping to shape Last Mile's operations from the ground up. As our founding Chief Operating Officer, she built and scaled our food rescue network to efficiently connect food donors with agencies serving those in need. Today, as CEO, Eileen leads Last Mile with the same strategic vision and dedication, and under her leadership, we’ve diverted millions of pounds of food from landfills to the tables of our community.

Who Goes Hungry?

people

That’s how many of our neighbors face food insecurity in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region, including more than 80,000 children. Our region’s food banks, shelters and pantries are already making a critical difference in fighting food insecurity. But there’s still a gap between the number of meals these organizations provide and feeding all those who are in need.

At least 17 million meals are needed to feed our neighbors fighting food insecurity.

Despite high numbers of people with food insecurity, huge amounts of good, fresh, surplus food from places like grocery stores, convenience stores, event venues, food distributors and corporate and school cafeterias is thrown out every day.

Wasting food wastes the water, land, energy and other resources needed to produce it. And when food is left to decompose in a landfill, it releases toxic methane gas, a greenhouse gas that fuels climate change. 62 million tons of food ends up in landfills every year.

Such a Waste

Connecting the Dots With Food Rescue

Last Mile Food Rescue’s purpose is to be the logistics solution creating a network and using technology to connect good food with our neighbors who are food insecure.

Now we just need you!

When you help, you’re doing more than rescuing food: You’re rescuing people in our own community. Learn how you can help fight hunger and food waste now. Learn how you can help eliminate wasted food and fight hunger.

We’re Driving Down Food Insecurity

Last Mile Food Rescue was founded to bridge the gaps between hunger, food waste and environmental sustainability in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region.

Click here to view our most recent Last Mile Impact Report.

Driving Down Food Insecurity - Last Mile Food Rescue

In the News...

FC Cincinnati star partners up with Food Rescue

Story by Jason Maxwell, FOX19, June 24, 2024

A Tri-State organization is making sure no food goes to waste at Taste of Cincinnati

Story by Madeline Ottilie, WCPO, May 23, 2024

Taste of Cincinnati teams up with food rescue to prevent food waste at annual festival

Story by Christian Hauser, WKRC, May 27, 2024

Ending Food Insecurity

Story by M. Leigh Hood, Cincinnati Magazine, November 27, 2023

Growing Together

Story by John Stegeman, The Catholic Telegraph, November 21, 2023

Here Are Our Current Openings

More Hope, Less Wasted Food and Hunger

  • Green Ask Icon – Last Mile Food Rescue

    1. Reach out to us for more information

  • Orange Gift Icon – Last Mile Food Rescue

    2. Volunteer, donate food or give financially

  • Navy Feel Good Icon – Last Mile Food Rescue

    3. Feel good about doing your part