Last updated on July 15th, 2024 at 05:34 pm
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market has donated its 50th refrigerated van to support local nonprofits as part of the Nourishing Our Neighborhood program.
Launched in 2020, this initiative aims to expand the capacity and capability of community-based food rescue organizations across the U.S. and Canada to move food to where it’s needed most. Each van can rescue 20,000 pounds of food weekly, diverting 1,040,000 pounds of food per year from landfills and providing more than 8.5 million meals over its 10-year life cycle.
“This van donation marks a significant step in Whole Foods Market’s commitment to nourishing local communities,” said Kera Glass, team leader for community giving and engagement at Whole Foods Market. “Through these van donations, we’re not only ensuring more food reaches those in need but also making a lasting impact in reducing waste and fostering community well-being across 44 cities.”
In addition to donating refrigerated vans, the Nourishing Our Neighborhood program facilitates mobile pantry events in communities Whole Foods Market serves. These free events are farmers market-style and held in collaboration with nonprofit food-rescue organizations participating in Whole Foods Market’s Grocery Rescue Program. Each event provides pantry staples and fresh produce for more than 700 families facing food insecurity. Whole Foods Market plans to hold an additional six mobile pantry events in October.
Each of the participating organizations will receive a refrigerated van in early 2025. Whole Foods Market also maintains a robust food donation program at its stores. In 2023, Whole Foods Market donated 28 million meals to almost 1,000 food rescue and redistribution programs across the country.
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Whole Foods Market plans to continue expanding the program with the introduction of Ford E-Transit electric refrigerated vehicles to the fleet later this year. These all-electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions, meaning they can have significant emissions benefits over conventional vehicles. As with the previous vans, these electric vans are also refrigerated, so recipient nonprofits can pick up perishable and non-perishable items, resulting in more rescued food. Each vehicle will come with a Level 2 charging station, with the first electric vehicles scheduled to arrive in select markets this fall.
This 50th van donation was made to the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland, a community-based nonprofit with more than 25 years of service, that has distributed millions of meals to people in need throughout Ohio’s Greater Cleveland area. In 2023, Hunger Network was one of the recipients of the Mobile Pantry Partner initiative.
“We are honored and thrilled to be the first food relief and recovery organization in the state of Ohio to receive a Nourishing Our Neighborhoods van in partnership with Whole Foods Market,” said Julie M. Johnson, CEO of the Hunger Network.
“Since 2018, Hunger Network Food Rescue has recovered over 5.5 million pounds of food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Instead, we’ve diverted it from landfills by our Food Rescue Heroes transporting it directly into our neighborhoods to feed our neighbors. This new refrigerated van will enhance our ability to fight food and nutrition insecurity in Greater Cleveland by allowing us to rescue greater quantities of highly perishable, culturally appropriate, fresh foods and deliver them in our city where our neighbors need them most.”
Other recent van recipients include Minnie’s Food Pantry, Northern Virginia Food Rescue, FoodCycle LA and Good Neighbors.
