Second Harvest

Improving fleet productivity, reducing idle time, and maximizing food rescue operations

Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization, collecting surplus perishable food from restaurants and grocery stores and delivering it to shelters and social service agencies throughout Toronto. With a fleet of refrigerated trucks and a van supporting these time-sensitive operations, the organization needed greater visibility into vehicle activity and fleet efficiency. By implementing GPS tracking and telematics, Second Harvest gained actionable insight that helped improve productivity, reduce unnecessary idling, and make better use of its vehicles and donated resources.

The Challenge: Making Every Vehicle and Every Donation Count

Second Harvest operates in an environment where fleet efficiency directly supports its mission. Food must be collected and delivered quickly, often requiring drivers to make multiple stops throughout the day while keeping refrigerated vehicles moving efficiently.

As the organization looked to increase fleet productivity, it needed a better understanding of how its vehicles were being used. Reducing unnecessary idle time, improving daily productivity, and responding efficiently to pickup requests were all important to making the most of limited resources.

The organization also wanted stronger visibility into vehicle activity and driving behaviour. Understanding where trucks were located and how they were being operated could help identify opportunities to improve fuel efficiency, reduce unnecessary activity, and promote safer driving practices.

The Solution: Real-Time GPS Tracking and Fleet Visibility

Second Harvest implemented GPS tracking and telematics across its fleet to gain greater visibility into vehicle locations, routes, and driving activity.

Real-time vehicle visibility allows the team to identify the truck closest to a food donor when an immediate pickup request comes in. This helps dispatchers make quicker decisions, reduce unnecessary response time, and make more efficient use of the vehicles already on the road.

The system also provides detailed information about vehicle activity, including idling and driving behaviour. With this data, Second Harvest can identify trends affecting fuel consumption and fleet efficiency and make informed adjustments to improve day-to-day operations.

Having accurate fleet data also gives the organization measurable information it can use to demonstrate operational efficiency to sponsors and stakeholders. By showing how vehicles are being utilized, Second Harvest can provide greater transparency around how effectively it is using the resources entrusted to the organization.

The Results: Greater Productivity and More Efficient Fleet Operations

The first year of using GPS tracking produced measurable improvements across the fleet.

Second Harvest reduced idle time by 30.8% per vehicle per day and reduced the maximum speed at which its trucks travelled by 7%. At the same time, the fleet increased its average number of daily stops by 7.6% and increased the average distance driven per day by 4.5%.

The productivity gains were particularly evident as Thanksgiving approached. In September and the first week of October, the trucks collectively recovered and delivered a record 600,000 pounds of food.

The improved visibility also helped Second Harvest respond more effectively when donors needed urgent pickups. By identifying the nearest available vehicle, dispatchers could reduce unnecessary driver and dispatch time while helping control fuel costs.

Beyond productivity, the data provided greater insight into driving behaviour and fleet safety. Monitoring idling and other vehicle activity gave the organization the information needed to identify behaviours that could contribute to unnecessary fuel consumption or unsafe driving.

For Second Harvest, GPS tracking became more than a way to locate vehicles. It provided the visibility needed to improve fleet productivity, make better use of donated resources, and support the organization’s mission of rescuing and redistributing surplus food.

Want to see more fleet success stories? Explore our Success Stories to see how GPS tracking and telematics are helping organizations improve safety, efficiency, maintenance, and fleet performance.