Food Finders, a nonprofit organization, connects donated perishable food to hundreds of nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California.
In a nation where 30-40% of food goes to waste, food rescue is a heroic and much-needed effort. Why? Because it simultaneously reduces hunger and food waste. One group that’s made food rescue its mission is Food Finders, a nonprofit organization that connects donated perishable food to hundreds of nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California.
Thanks in part to 600 regular donors — mostly restaurants, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and companies like Thistle — Food Finders has recovered and donated over 160 million pounds of food over the course of its 31-year history. Last year alone, the organization distributed 12 million pounds of food.
Not Your Traditional Food Bank
Food Finders does just what its name implies — it locates surplus food then delivers it to other nonprofits like food pantries and homeless shelters. While food banks and pantries tend to serve just a few zip codes, Food Finders delivers food to nonprofits all over Southern California, including Los Angeles; parts of San Diego; and Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.
With only about 10-12 people on staff, Food Acquisitions Manager Chris Wong says, “We rely on everyone to work together to be able to recover food.” In this case, everyone includes partner agencies, staff, donors (like Thistle!), and volunteers who usually serve as pick-up and delivery drivers.
“There’s so much food surplus in America. Meanwhile, in lower-income communities we have the age-old problem of food deserts,” says Wong. Because over 50% of the rescued food is of the fresh produce variety, Food Finders is able to provide as many fruits and vegetables as possible to communities that need them most. But Wong claims, “there’s so much more we can do.” For example, the pandemic means many students aren’t receiving free and reduced lunches from school and summer programs. Efforts to address this particular need include modifications to the Food4Kids program and the creation of Family Boxes, which typically help fill the hunger gap many face over weekends.
The newest endeavor at Food Finders is Healthy Choices Ahead, a food and nutrition education program that offers classes at agencies like senior centers and low-income housing complexes. Class participants receive a bag of produce, complete with tips and recipes.
A Day in the Life of Food Finders
First, there are regularly scheduled routes. Volunteers pick up surplus food from ongoing donors and deliver it to nonprofits who then provide the food directly to clients in need. Second, there are what Wong refers to as “call-ins.” Every day, he takes calls from businesses who want to do a one-time food donation. He then seeks out a volunteer driver, or he finds another organization to do the pick-up. “Things change pretty frequently and can change pretty fast. What nonprofits do a distribution that day or next day? Does the non-profit have refrigeration?”
Food Finders aims to keep food within the same community that donates it. “If food is picked up in Long Beach, it should stay there,” Wong says. This decreases the food’s carbon footprint and means individuals in the community get the direct benefit of the donation. At the end of the day, the goal is to make sure all food is donated right away, not transported to Food Finders for storage.
What Brings Staff, Donors, and Volunteers to Food Finders?
The organization’s mission deeply resonates with Wong, who says, “I think seeing the need in the community and seeing that there was some sort of organization that could get food to people, that’s really beneficial. And also seeing how it’s helping the environment. It’s connecting food that would otherwise be disposed of to people who need it. There’s nothing wrong with this food. It’s good, it’s edible, it’s not expired. Building communities up that way is so impactful.”
Many of Food Finders’ volunteers are retired people who want to do something more worthwhile with their time. Wong shares that volunteers often say to him, “I played so much golf, I’ve shopped so many times, I’ve gone to so many coffee shops, I’ve watched so much TV…” Food Finders is the perfect place for people trying to find more meaning with their extra time and who want to get involved in their community.
Meanwhile, donors such as restaurateurs and grocery store owners look to Food Finders to rescue food that would otherwise go to waste. “It’s super impactful to them,” reports Wong, “A lot of donors [even] want to come in and volunteer” to see the full impact their donations make on the community. Often, they will go on a route ride to see surplus food’s journey from their business to a nonprofit, where individuals facing food insecurity are served.
The Pandemic’s Impact on Food Finders
High unemployment and an uncertain future mean the need for food in Southern California is the highest it’s ever been in Food Finders’ history. To complicate matters, as shoppers cleared grocery stores of all inventory, donations — besides one-time influxes from restaurants forced to close for a month or more — dipped at the beginning of the pandemic. Donations are now more stable and sometimes come from uncommon sources — like directly from dairy and vegetable farmers who are facing decreased demand due to restaurant and school closures.
“We are trying to adapt to the new normal,” reports Wong. This includes becoming the fiscal partner of brand-new organizations like FarmLink that aim to purchase pandemic-induced surplus food from farmers and donate it to food pantries. And initiatives like “The Summer to End Hunger” food drive look different. A drive-up, where food is taken directly from donors’ trunks, replaced the drop-off bins once placed in businesses, libraries, etc.
It also means Food Finders’ volunteer pool, which normally consists mostly of retired seniors, has changed. Since their age demographic is more vulnerable to COVID-19, Wong says, “we’re now relying on newer, younger volunteers who can step up and start rescuing food for us.” People who suddenly found themselves working from home or attending classes online have taken their bit of extra time to serve as volunteer drivers.
Thistle’s Donation Partnership with Food Finders
Ever since Thistle started delivering to the Southern California area in June 2018, 50-100 fresh, ready-to-eat bowls and salads per week are donated to Food Finders. Most of these meals find their way to sober living facilities. “Thistle’s been super supportive of us from the get-go,” reports Wong.
Just as Thistle puts members’ weekly meals on auto-pilot, Food Finders does the same for our food donation efforts in Southern California. The donation process is predictable and seamless. Before partnering with Food Finders, it was a tough job to locate bellies for our surplus meals. By ensuring that no food goes to waste and by giving more people access to sustainable plant-forward meals, Food Finders is a valued and reliable partner in our mission.
Want to Get Involved With Food Finders? Here’s How
To volunteer, visit Food Finders’ website to fill out an application. Staff will then reach out and walk you through the next steps. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Food rescue: drive to pick up food donations and deliver them to nonprofit organizations
- Family boxes & Food4Kids program: pack food at the warehouse
To donate food, get more information here. To make a monetary donation that goes toward the purchase of food, fuel, and supplies, head over to this link. Thank you for joining the mission to reduce hunger and food waste.
Food Finders, a nonprofit organization, connects donated perishable food to hundreds of nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California.
In a nation where 30-40% of food goes to waste, food rescue is a heroic and much-needed effort. Why? Because it simultaneously reduces hunger and food waste. One group that’s made food rescue its mission is Food Finders, a nonprofit organization that connects donated perishable food to hundreds of nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California.
Thanks in part to 600 regular donors — mostly restaurants, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and companies like Thistle — Food Finders has recovered and donated over 160 million pounds of food over the course of its 31-year history. Last year alone, the organization distributed 12 million pounds of food.
Not Your Traditional Food Bank
Food Finders does just what its name implies — it locates surplus food then delivers it to other nonprofits like food pantries and homeless shelters. While food banks and pantries tend to serve just a few zip codes, Food Finders delivers food to nonprofits all over Southern California, including Los Angeles; parts of San Diego; and Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.
With only about 10-12 people on staff, Food Acquisitions Manager Chris Wong says, “We rely on everyone to work together to be able to recover food.” In this case, everyone includes partner agencies, staff, donors (like Thistle!), and volunteers who usually serve as pick-up and delivery drivers.
“There’s so much food surplus in America. Meanwhile, in lower-income communities we have the age-old problem of food deserts,” says Wong. Because over 50% of the rescued food is of the fresh produce variety, Food Finders is able to provide as many fruits and vegetables as possible to communities that need them most. But Wong claims, “there’s so much more we can do.” For example, the pandemic means many students aren’t receiving free and reduced lunches from school and summer programs. Efforts to address this particular need include modifications to the Food4Kids program and the creation of Family Boxes, which typically help fill the hunger gap many face over weekends.
The newest endeavor at Food Finders is Healthy Choices Ahead, a food and nutrition education program that offers classes at agencies like senior centers and low-income housing complexes. Class participants receive a bag of produce, complete with tips and recipes.
A Day in the Life of Food Finders
First, there are regularly scheduled routes. Volunteers pick up surplus food from ongoing donors and deliver it to nonprofits who then provide the food directly to clients in need. Second, there are what Wong refers to as “call-ins.” Every day, he takes calls from businesses who want to do a one-time food donation. He then seeks out a volunteer driver, or he finds another organization to do the pick-up. “Things change pretty frequently and can change pretty fast. What nonprofits do a distribution that day or next day? Does the non-profit have refrigeration?”
Food Finders aims to keep food within the same community that donates it. “If food is picked up in Long Beach, it should stay there,” Wong says. This decreases the food’s carbon footprint and means individuals in the community get the direct benefit of the donation. At the end of the day, the goal is to make sure all food is donated right away, not transported to Food Finders for storage.
What Brings Staff, Donors, and Volunteers to Food Finders?
The organization’s mission deeply resonates with Wong, who says, “I think seeing the need in the community and seeing that there was some sort of organization that could get food to people, that’s really beneficial. And also seeing how it’s helping the environment. It’s connecting food that would otherwise be disposed of to people who need it. There’s nothing wrong with this food. It’s good, it’s edible, it’s not expired. Building communities up that way is so impactful.”
Many of Food Finders’ volunteers are retired people who want to do something more worthwhile with their time. Wong shares that volunteers often say to him, “I played so much golf, I’ve shopped so many times, I’ve gone to so many coffee shops, I’ve watched so much TV…” Food Finders is the perfect place for people trying to find more meaning with their extra time and who want to get involved in their community.
Meanwhile, donors such as restaurateurs and grocery store owners look to Food Finders to rescue food that would otherwise go to waste. “It’s super impactful to them,” reports Wong, “A lot of donors [even] want to come in and volunteer” to see the full impact their donations make on the community. Often, they will go on a route ride to see surplus food’s journey from their business to a nonprofit, where individuals facing food insecurity are served.
The Pandemic’s Impact on Food Finders
High unemployment and an uncertain future mean the need for food in Southern California is the highest it’s ever been in Food Finders’ history. To complicate matters, as shoppers cleared grocery stores of all inventory, donations — besides one-time influxes from restaurants forced to close for a month or more — dipped at the beginning of the pandemic. Donations are now more stable and sometimes come from uncommon sources — like directly from dairy and vegetable farmers who are facing decreased demand due to restaurant and school closures.
“We are trying to adapt to the new normal,” reports Wong. This includes becoming the fiscal partner of brand-new organizations like FarmLink that aim to purchase pandemic-induced surplus food from farmers and donate it to food pantries. And initiatives like “The Summer to End Hunger” food drive look different. A drive-up, where food is taken directly from donors’ trunks, replaced the drop-off bins once placed in businesses, libraries, etc.
It also means Food Finders’ volunteer pool, which normally consists mostly of retired seniors, has changed. Since their age demographic is more vulnerable to COVID-19, Wong says, “we’re now relying on newer, younger volunteers who can step up and start rescuing food for us.” People who suddenly found themselves working from home or attending classes online have taken their bit of extra time to serve as volunteer drivers.
Thistle’s Donation Partnership with Food Finders
Ever since Thistle started delivering to the Southern California area in June 2018, 50-100 fresh, ready-to-eat bowls and salads per week are donated to Food Finders. Most of these meals find their way to sober living facilities. “Thistle’s been super supportive of us from the get-go,” reports Wong.
Just as Thistle puts members’ weekly meals on auto-pilot, Food Finders does the same for our food donation efforts in Southern California. The donation process is predictable and seamless. Before partnering with Food Finders, it was a tough job to locate bellies for our surplus meals. By ensuring that no food goes to waste and by giving more people access to sustainable plant-forward meals, Food Finders is a valued and reliable partner in our mission.
Want to Get Involved With Food Finders? Here’s How
To volunteer, visit Food Finders’ website to fill out an application. Staff will then reach out and walk you through the next steps. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Food rescue: drive to pick up food donations and deliver them to nonprofit organizations
- Family boxes & Food4Kids program: pack food at the warehouse
To donate food, get more information here. To make a monetary donation that goes toward the purchase of food, fuel, and supplies, head over to this link. Thank you for joining the mission to reduce hunger and food waste.
