Pittsburgh area food rescue begins recovering leftovers from NFL draft to help those in need

There was a lot left to clean up after last week's record-setting NFL Draft.

Of course, there's trash and equipment to take down, but there's a lot of valuable stuff as well.

One local organization, 412 Food Rescue, is trying to intercept some of the food that's left.

"We're leaving no stone unturned trying to grab every bit for the community," Josh Weiland, the organization's vice president of operations, said.

He and others realized that the best stone was staring right at them.

"The individual vendor on the ground, the large distributors such as Aramark or the caterers are coming to this town," Weiland said.

Weiland said his organization has been working with VisitPittsburgh and the NFL, trying to rescue the big stuff from the draft – but also things like gum, mints, and water.

As of Wednesday morning, Weiland said 412 Food Rescue has collected about 43,000 pounds of food. The goal is to collect about 60,000 pounds.

What they've gotten equals about $118,153, Weiland said – with the capability of feeding 1,074 people.

Weiland said they've targeted food within the draft footprint, and businesses that stocked up and have stuff left over.

He said it's about feeding the hungry around us – by preventing waste.

"This is the land of Fred Rogers – and we're here to take care of our neighbors," she said.