Our fresh food program began in the summer of 2021 with one goal in mind: rescue nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste. Since, it’s become a core operation piece for Move For Hunger. We now have a bustling network of over 1,200 transportation partners that help transport food from farms and other sources to communities in need.
Nearly half of all grown fruits and vegetables are wasted each year, while 23.5 million Americans live in food deserts, with little to no access to fresh produce. We’ve been able to help alleviate hunger by developing innovative transportation and cold storage solutions so we can help bring more fresh food to those in underserved communities. In almost three years we’ve transported over 8 million pounds of perishable food, offset 467.27 tons of CO2 emissions, and significantly reduced food waste across the country. All with the help of our transportation partners who generously provide resources and services to recover, transport, and distribute food to banks and pantries across the U.S.
Within the last 4 months, we’ve been able to transport over 500,000 lbs of food with the help of our fantastic partner Society of St Andrew (SoSA). SoSA is the nation's largest gleaning organization, focusing on rescuing food from farms that otherwise would go to waste. Since 2022, Move For Hunger and SoSA have partnered together over 100 times to transport gleaned produce across 13 states. This makes a meaningful difference to so many communities across America experiencing hunger and lacking access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
This month, we completed another Potato Drop with Hilldrup Charlotte and helped transport 24,000 lbs of potatoes to Nourish Up food bank in Charlotte, North Carolina. Donations like these are essential to keeping the shelves of local food banks and pantries filled. Just in 2024, SoSA has been a part of over 20 deliveries, and there are many more to come.
When farms overgrow or have imperfect produce sometimes it’s left to rot there. Just this year, over 40,000,000,000 lbs of food has already been wasted in fields, supermarkets, restaurants, and homes. With the help of organizations such as SoSA, we’re able to rescue this produce and put on “Crop Drops” where the food is redistributed near and far to the surrounding communities. But by partnering with SoSA we’re able to combat the waste and transport it to those who need it, ensuring families have access to nutritious foods on their table.
SoSA focuses on bringing people together to harvest and share healthy food, reduce food waste, and build caring communities. January through March of 2024, SoSA “distributed over 2,873,600 lbs of fresh produce in 552 events, with 3,569 volunteers.” This totals over 11 million servings of fresh food for local communities and an incredible impact in the fight against hunger.
Thank you to SoSA and all of our other partners who have helped us already make such an impact in 2024! Looking to join our network? Learn more here!
