Megha Kulshreshtha
CEO & Head of Product
Food Connect
Megha Kulshreshtha is the Executive Director of Food Connect, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between surplus food and hunger through collaboration and technology. Food Connect has helped distribute over 1 million on-demand meals through their last-mile transport and logistics support in the hunger relief space.
Megha has over 10 years of experience in data and process solutions. She started her career in Finance as a Data Analyst and then as a Portfolio Analyst for US Equities at Aberdeen Asset Management. For the last 6 years, Megha has dedicated her technical background towards streamlining inefficiencies in the hunger relief space. The Food Connect app has helped over 650+ food vendors across the country donate their surplus food in real time. Over 700+ shelters have received free food donations through the app and are growing. Megha continues to lead Food Connect's product testing and development to help track and understand real-time needs. Food Connect's work has been recognized in the hunger relief space for its innovation in collaboration, integrations, and food equity initiatives.
Overview
Food Connect leverages innovative technology to directly serve individuals who cannot safely or easily access meal sites or food sources by delivering healthy food directly to them. Food Connect also works with local community shelters, hospitals, and schools to make healthy food more accessible. Donors can schedule pickups to donate surplus food through the Food Connect app or website. Dispatchers use information that recipients and local meal sites input about food needs and storage capacity to match the donation to a community partner.
Their dispatching system considers recipients’ capacity and preferences, so we never deliver food an organization cannot use. After partnering with Food Connect, partners increased their meals delivered by an average of 65% and the organization operates at a 98% delivery success rate, which rivals for-profit logistics peers. EdLoC x NKH funding will expand their work for low-income families in Oakland and San Francisco Unified School Districts.
