Hugh Mahler
Harvest Hero, Advisory Council, Past Board Member | Forgotten Harvest
George W. Romney Award for Lifetime Achievement in Volunteerism
Nominated by Forgotten Harvest
Hugh Mahler, an eight-year volunteer with Forgotten Harvest, started the program in 2018 when Tim Hudson, Forgotten Harvest’s chief development officer, came to him about solving the problem of how smaller portions of donated food could be collected. Hugh and another volunteer started the program on a small scale, proving its viability. Last year, Harvest Heroes was the second most active volunteer group, donating 1,898 hours of time.
Hugh sold his business in 2010, looking for volunteer experiences and wanting to do something worthwhile with his new-found free time. He ended up spending many hours at Forgotten Harvest, both in the warehouse and in the office. He was a familiar face among staff and other volunteers.
Harvest Heroes has grown beyond Hugh’s expectations, with 25 volunteers handling daily routes.
Currently, 32 routes are active, with 300,000 pounds of food rescued in 2021. Because food donors are expecting weekly pick-ups, volunteers are asked to make a long-term commitment (at least three months). There are provisions for absences or vacations, but program success is strongly dependent on the obligation to the route assignment. Among the food donors are Hollywood Market, Aldi’s, Grand Traverse Pie Company, Great Harvest Bread, Fresh Thyme and many, many others that donate fresh produce, prepared foods, baked goods and dry goods. Little Caesars is a large donor, with six Eastside stores donating pizzas twice a week, thanks to the generosity of franchise owner Louis Asher.
New to the project, Dollar General signed on in the fall of 2021 with close to 90 metro Detroit stores making donations. Dollar General stores are often located in food desert areas and sell frozen and packaged food.
The major uptick in volume generated by Dollar General required 20 new drivers for the Harvest Heroes fleet. The Dollar General project was organized at a national level through Feeding America, a network of U.S. hunger-relief organizations, and is being executed at the local level through Forgotten Harvest’s Heroes.