Inspire Others – Nurturing Collaborations

We’re excited you’re thinking about starting a program to recover food and help your community!

Food Forward®, Inc. started in 2009, with a donation of homegrown citrus to one local food pantry. As the organization has grown, so has our ability to serve a larger number of hunger relief organizations Through our three produce recovery programs, Food Forward now donates fresh fruits and vegetables to a network of over 250 hunger relief organizations (our “receiving agencies”). Our growth stems from cultivating strong relationships with produce donors and receiving agency partners, combined with efficient logistics which enable us to recover and donate a free source of high-quality food.  

Who receives produce from Food Forward?

The produce recovered by Food Forward is distributed to hunger relief organizations that provide it to individuals across all ages and backgrounds experiencing food insecurity. Our impact spans a wide range of social service sectors: food banks, food pantries, domestic violence shelters, transitional youth homes, veterans services, after-school programs, LGBTQ+ teen/adult/senior services, college student assistance programs, programs serving people experiencing homelessness or with disabilities, among others.

Questions to Consider Before Starting Your Own Food Recovery Organization

• Are you interested in operating your own food distribution and providing food directly to individuals, or do you want to donate recovered food to existing hunger relief programs?
• Are there hunger-relief organizations or programs already providing food to people in your community?
• Is there a group or organization recovering surplus food for these hunger relief organizations? 
• Are the hunger relief organizations doing their own food recovery? Note: It is common for large food banks to participate in food recovery. 
• Do the hunger relief programs in your community need more food?  If so, what types of food do they need?
• What types of food do existing hunger relief programs provide (fresh produce, shelf-stable items, meats, dairy, etc.) to their recipients?
• Are your proposed food donations appropriate for the population being served? For example, whole, uncooked foods might be difficult for unhoused people to prepare.
• Do the hunger relief programs with whom you want to work have storage or refrigeration if necessary?
• How frequently do you expect to provide individuals or hunger relief organizations with food? Hunger relief programs often benefit from consistent donations of produce to supplement their regular food distributions.

Steps for getting started with hunger relief programs

Step 1: Identify potential partner programs, and create pathways for organizations to connect with you.

• When determining new receiving agency partners, key considerations may include:
  • Location of food distribution
  • Agency’s need for food (perishable versus shelf-stable)
  • Frequency of their food distributions (regular versus pop-up)
  • Day and time of distribution (how quickly can they turn around a perishable donation?)
  • The agency’s transportation (or will you deliver?)
  • Storage and capacity
  • Refrigeration needs
  • Number of people served
  • Ability to manage any waste

Step 2: Establish an onboarding process for the hunger relief programs

• Create an interest form and determine how to distribute
• Survey agencies for initial information collection
• Hold an initial meeting with the agency to understand their needs and determine compatibility

Step 3: Draft an agency agreement or memorandum of understanding 

Step 4: Identify a point of contact for each agency partner. 

• Who will be the points of contact to coordinate donations, both from your organization and from the hunger relief program?
  

Step 5: Create a workflow for donations 

• Coordination of donations to the hunger relief program
• Scheduling, data management, and reporting
• Feedback and regular engagement with the partner organization
  

Step 6: Begin providing donations!

Step 7: Strengthen the partner relationship and increase engagement 

• Visit the agency regularly if you can in order to:
  • Ensure that the distribution aligns with your shared expectations
  • Understand how you can best support their distribution and assess opportunities for collaboration and growth 
  • Pursue opportunities for cross-promotion and storytelling
• Survey the agency periodically in order to maintain current data and have an awareness of their needs

More things to think about

• Are there areas in your community with high food insecurity that do not have access to food distributions?
• Are there hunger relief organizations or programs in these areas with whom you could partner to either contribute to an existing donation or to  establish a new distribution?
• The existing food distributions in your community might only be held on weekdays when working people are less available.
• There may be food distributions in your area that are open to anyone in the community, but are perhaps held at one location where some people may feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable.
• Get the word out! Consider the best ways to reach the community that will benefit from the distribution, whether that be through social media, physical flyers, word of mouth, etc.
• Think about whether the food you will provide is culturally familiar or appropriate for the community being served. For example, grapefruit is a food to avoid for senior citizens as it can interfere with certain medications.
• We recommend starting with only one or two agency partners so you can better support their work  and build strong relationships.  
• Understand the agency’s quality and safety standards in regard to how it manages the food and the distributions.
• You may want to consider how an agency manages their organic waste.
• Think about what kinds of resources that you can provide for your partner agencies to help them be effective in supporting their community.