our programs
Food To Share Recovery and Distribution
Addressing Hunger. Reducing Waste. Generating Energy.
Food to Share is a community food partnership that provides unique opportunities to address both food insecurity and environmental solutions. This project, inspired by the Fresno State Food Recovery Network model, will increase access and availability of nutritious food to underserved communities in Fresno County. Additionally, the project will make significant contributions to the improvement of regional air quality, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging waste diversion from landfills for renewable energy production in collaboration with Colony Energy and Caglia Environmental.
Combating Hunger
Food to Share will combat hunger and increase access to healthy food in underserved neighborhoods that are represented by high concentrations of poverty and communities of color.
Promoting Strong, Equitable Growth, and Racial Equity in Impacted Communities
Fresno Metro Ministry’s Food to Share program primarily serves neighborhoods and populations in the urban city of Fresno area with median household incomes ranging from 32%-39% below poverty level.
Over half identify as Hispanic/Latino, and just under 30% as non-Hispanic White, 9% as Asian/Pacific Islander, and 7% as African American.
Resident participants of our program report very low access to quality affordable health care, healthy food options, housing, family-supportive wage jobs, convenient public transportation, and other reasonable quality of life factors that would positively address health and economic opportunities.
RECOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION
Through a growing network of food donors (school sites, retail outlets, farmers, packers, processors, transporters, etc.) and numerous community-based receiver organizations, Metro rescues nutritious food–that would otherwise be wasted, and gets it to families that face daunting food hardship and lack the financial means to purchase healthy food, while also equipping them with the confidence and knowledge to utilize this food and take charge of their own health.
Operations
Metro currently has 5 cargo vans and 5 drivers. All drivers play hands-on roles in recovery and distribution and adding food donor sites. We have designed our programs in a way that drivers know every route (not just their own) so they can play a leadership role with new hires as well as make shifts in daily routes as new recovery sites are added. Over the past five years, Metro has diligently worked to improve and streamline our recovery and distribution logistics.
Rescued Poundage
Drivers document every pound of food recovered. At every recovery site (schools, retail, gleaning, etc.), our drivers weigh and document each type of food and poundage on a customized app. We are able to track every pound of food from the donor source and generate poundage reports by week, month, year and each grant cycle.
Providing Safe And Nutritious Food
Providing quality food to people experiencing hunger is very important to us. To ensure that the food we provide is handled in a safe manner, we follow food safety guidelines from the USDA and others in the food industry. We work hard to ensure that all the food we receive is handled with care and to food safety guidelines. Key staff are trained in proper food safety procedures some of which include:
- Ensuring food is transported at proper temperatures
- Check product dates on food items as well as examining product packing to ensure it meet standards
- Inspecting perishable items for spoilage, mold, and contamination
- Participating and communicating with our member partners about food product recalls
- Following food safety handling guidelines
Anyone Can Be a Food Donor
Our food donor partners are essential in the effort to reduce food waste and end hunger in our community. It doesn’t matter how big or small the donor or donation, every partner is valued and makes a difference.
Donors can range from large food distributors to small mom-and-pop stores, urban farms, and even other non-profits.
If you are interested in becoming a food donor, email us at
info@fresnometmin.org and include “Food Donor” in the subject line.
