Building the Capacity of a Food Rescue and Distribution Network in Fresno

The non-profit Fresno Metropolitan Ministry (Fresno Metro), in partnership with the Central California Food Bank, is using a $300,000 grant from the Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant Program to expand their capacity to rescue and distribute more edible food through their Food to Share program. Over the grant term, Fresno Metro will add 20 new food recovery school sites from Fresno Unified and Central Unified School Districts, set up 5 new food distribution sites at local community-based organizations, and increase direct food recoveries by adding 2 new retail locations and 6 urban gleaning sites. Central California Food Bank will use the funds to increase their rescued pounds from donors by adding 2 new produce donors and one new processor/manufacturer. These funds will also be used to hire 2 food recovery drivers for Fresno Metro and a Retail Rescue Coordinator for Central California Food Bank, support pack line maintenance and sanitation, and purchase materials and supplies to support these rescue activities.  

Some of this work has already been completed. In May 2021, Fresno Metro added a new recovery site, Bullard Talent Elementary School, and recovered 23,917 pounds of nutritious food from the Fresno Unified Nutrition Center. Fresno Metro then continued to expand their food recovery network through the summer, adding retail donors Zero Grocery and Grocery Outlet, and hired a new Food to Share driver to transport the rescued food.

“CalRecycle funding has not only been essential to Fresno Metro Ministry being able to expand healthy food access to underserved Fresno communities,” said Keith Bergthold, Executive Director of Fresno Metro, “CalRecycle’s support and our program-related performance have also given us the credibility to earn other funders’ investments to launch and grow much needed cooking skills and nutrition education classes, community gardens, urban farming, and local food policy work.”

The Food to Share program is a network of food donors (e.g., school sites, retail outlets, farmers, packers, processors, transporters) that provide healthy food that would have otherwise gone to the landfill to community-based food recipient organizations who deliver it to needy communities in Fresno County. These actions keep edible food out of landfills while addressing high hunger and food insecurity rates in one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the country.