Fresno Food Recovery Network
closedCommunity food recovery, distribution, and education network.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
* | N/A | Grant | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
The Fresno Food Recovery Network is a program operating under the Fresno Metropolitan Ministry, a non-profit organization established in 1970. The Ministry was founded by churches to address social and economic issues in neglected Fresno neighborhoods. The food recovery initiative, known as Food to Share, was inspired by the Fresno State Food Recovery Network model and launched in 2015 to address high rates of food insecurity and reduce food waste in Fresno County.
The network operates by rescuing surplus, nutritious food from a variety of donors, including farms, packers, processors, retail outlets like Grocery Outlet, and school districts. This recovered food, which would otherwise be sent to landfills, is then distributed through a network of community-based organizations to families and individuals facing food hardship. To facilitate this, the organization utilizes cargo vans, commercial refrigeration, and a customized app to weigh and track every pound of food recovered from donor to receiver. In 2022 alone, the program rescued and redistributed over 1.5 million pounds of food.
Beyond food distribution, the program provides nutrition education, such as the 7-week Cooking Matters program, and assists with CalFresh (SNAP) benefit outreach and applications. It also engages in urban agriculture through community gardens and farmer incubation programs. The business model is grant-based, receiving significant funding from sources like CalRecycle and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to expand its capacity, purchase equipment, and hire staff. The program primarily serves underserved communities and neighborhoods in the Fresno area with household incomes significantly below the poverty level.
Keywords: food recovery, food insecurity, hunger relief, food waste reduction, community food distribution, nutrition education, urban agriculture, non-profit, Fresno, San Joaquin Valley, surplus food, food system, community health, food access, gleaning, food bank partnership