ORANGE PARK — An organization known for food rescues is trying its hand at food distribution next week due to time constraints during the holidays.

Waste Not Want Not saves discarded food that’s unmarketable, but still wholesome, from grocery stores and restaurants. Food the organization saves would normally go to charities and food pantries, but most will close around the final week of the year.

On Dec. 27, Waste Not Want Not is holding a first-come, first-serve event food distribution from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Challenge Enterprise Plaza, 500 Kingsley Ave.

Sandra Staudt-Killea, Waste Not Want Not’s executive director, said Thanksgiving and Christmas result in thousands of pounds in discarded holiday food. That leaves the organization with a lot of food but few places it can go.

A large distribution is unexplored territory for Waste Not Want Not, but they are up to the challenge, Staudt-Killea said.

“It’s not what we usually do. There’s so much food the stores are purging. Christmas falls on Saturday and we’re getting [the food] on Sunday and Monday,” she said. “Most pantries are closed for the whole week due to Christmas and New Year’s.”

Staudt-Killea said Waste Not Want Not can’t handle walk up traffic at their primary location on Carnes St. The organization is taking calls at (904) 810-8012 where interested persons can say they plan to attend with how many people they need to feed.

“I think it’s important to get the food to people who don’t have it, and it’s important to put the food we rescue to good use so our mission can be fulfilled,” Staudt-Killea said.

Waste Not Want Not will pick up food within a 15-mile radius and share it with 15 counties, as far as Alachua County. With food rescues, the organization can place a volunteer at a store or restaurant to retrieve the food.

The food rescued is sometimes oddly specific, which Staudt-Killea said is part of the fun. She mentioned recovering a broken-down truck full of onions that missed its appointment with a store recently.

She said volunteers will approach Monday’s event the same as the truck, which was located in Baldwin.

“Our volunteers are passionate about our mission. That [onion recovery] was on a weekend,” she added. “We do respond to those weird opportunities.”