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       After the annual New England Food Show in Boston on Tuesday, more than a dozen volunteers and employees of the nonprofit Food for Free loaded their trucks with more than 50 boxes of unused food.
        The award is delivered to the organization’s warehouse in Somerville, where it is sorted and distributed to food pantries. Eventually, these products end up on dining tables in the Greater Boston area.
        “Otherwise, this [food] would end up in a landfill,” said Ben Engle, COO of Food for Free. “This is a great opportunity to access quality food that you don’t see often…and also for those who are food insecure.”
       The New England Food Show, held at the Boston Fairgrounds, is the region’s largest trade event for the food service industry.
       While the vendors are packing their exhibits, Food for Free staff are looking for leftovers that can be “saved” from being thrown away.
       They packed two tables of fresh produce, deli meats and an assortment of high quality food items, then loaded several carts full of bread.
        “It’s not uncommon for vendors at these shows to come in with samples and not have a plan for what to do with the remaining samples,” Angle told the New England Seafood Expo. “So we’ll go collect it and give it to hungry people.”
       Instead of distributing food directly to families and individuals, Food for Free works with smaller food aid organizations that have more connections in local communities, Angle said.
        “Ninety-nine percent of the food we ship goes to small agencies and organizations that don’t have the transportation or logistics infrastructure that Food for Free has,” Engle said. “So basically we buy food from different sources and ship it to smaller businesses that distribute it directly to the public.”
       Free food volunteer Megan Witter said small organizations often struggle to find volunteers or companies to help deliver food donated from food banks.
        “The First Congregational Church food pantry actually helped us get extra food … to our facility,” said Witter, a former church food pantry employee. “So, having their transport and they didn’t charge us for transport is very, very nice.”
        Food rescue efforts have exposed unused food and food insecurity, drawing the attention of Boston City Council members Gabriela Colet and Ricardo Arroyo. Last month, the couple introduced a regulation that requires food vendors to donate leftover food to non-profits rather than throwing it away.
       Arroyo said the proposal, which is scheduled to be heard on April 28, aims to create distribution channels among grocery stores, restaurants and other vendors with pantries and soup kitchens.
       Given how many federal aid programs, such as the Supplemental Food Assistance Program, have come to an end, Engel said more food rescue efforts are needed overall.
       Before the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance announced that the state would provide additional SNAP benefits to individuals and families, Engel said he and other organizations noticed a significant increase in the number of people waiting at food pantries.
        “Everyone knows that ending the SNAP program will mean less unsafe food,” Engel said. “We will definitely see more demand.”