Nourishing Our Neighborhoods
Launched in 2020, the Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program aims to expand the capacity and capability for community-based food rescue organizations to move food from where it’s available to where it’s needed most. Through this program, Whole Foods Market funds the purchase or refrigerated vans for food-recovery organizations so they can transport fresh, healthy food back to their communities — a critical, and oftentimes difficult, step in the food-redistribution process.
How Nourishing Our Neighborhoods makes a difference:
- Each vehicle has the capacity to rescue 20,000 pounds of food weekly
- 1,040,000 pounds of food per vehicle per year can be diverted from landfills
- 8,666,667 meals can be shared over the van’s 10-year life cycle
Recipient organizations:
To nourish people and the planet, and in response to significant food insecurity needs in communities, all Whole Foods Market operational areas participate in the Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program. Through this program, we continue to grow our relationship with food-rescue organizations across the U.S. and Canada, which supports our pledge to cut our food waste in half by 2030 as part of the Amazon Sustainability Action Plan.
All participating organizations currently participate in Whole Foods Market’s Grocery Rescue Program — picking up food from stores weekly and redistributing it to feed neighbors fresh, high-quality food as quickly as possible.
If your organization is interested in participating in the Whole Foods Market Grocery Rescue Program, please contact our friends at Food Donation Connection. Learn more about Whole Foods Market’s commitment to fighting food waste HERE.
Organizations already participating in Whole Foods Market’s Grocery Rescue Program that are interested in the Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program can apply for consideration HERE.
Nourishing Our Neighborhoods Partnering Organizations & Years of Collaboration:
| 412 Food Rescue – Pittsburgh, PA | Collaborating since 2017 |
| Aloha Harvest – Oahu, HI | Collaborating since 2005 |
| The Bowery Mission – New York, NY | Collaborating since 2009 |
| Care for Real – Chicago, IL | Collaborating since 2010 |
| Celestial Manna – Greater Washington, D.C. | Collaborating since 2017 |
| Ceres Community Project- Marin and Sonoma counties, CA | Collaborating since 2021 |
| City Harvest – New York, NY | Collaborating since 2001 |
| CityTeam – San Francisco, CA | Collaborating since 2020 |
| Following Francis dba. Following Francis on the Hill – Washington, D.C. | Collaborating since 2023 |
| Food Finders – Greater Los Angeles, CA | Collaborating since 2009 |
| Food Runners – San Francisco, CA | Collaborating since 2000 |
| Food Shift – Oakland, CA | Collaborating since 2021 |
| Food Stash Foundation – Vancouver, BC | Collaborating since 2017 |
| Forgotten Harvest – Metro Detroit, MI | Collaborating since 2004 |
| Gifts of Love – Hartford, CT | Collaborating since 2021 |
| Good Neighbors – Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL | Collaborating since 2023 |
| The Green Apple Pantry – Grand Rapids, MI | Collaborating since 2022 |
| Harmony House – Houston, TX | Collaborating since 2018 |
| Human Resource Development Council of District IX Inc – Bozeman, MT | Collaborating since 2022 |
| Keep Austin Fed – Austin, TX | Collaborating since 2005 |
| Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Inc. – Boston, MA | Collaborating since 2013 |
| Manna on Main Street – Montgomery County, PA | Collaborating since 2008 |
| Martha’s Kitchen – San Jose, CA | Collaborating since 2019 |
| Miami Rescue Mission – Miami, FL | Collaborating since 2004 |
| Minnie’s Food Pantry – Plano, TX | Collaborating since 2013 |
| North St. Paul Area Food Shelf – St. Paul, MN | Collaborating since 2020 |
| Northern Virginia Food Rescue – Northern Virginia, VA | Collaborating since 2021 |
| nourish.NJ – Morristown, NJ | Collaborating since 2018 |
| Nourishing Hope – Chicago, IL | Collaborating since 2016 |
| NourishKC – Kansas City, MO | Collaborating since 2017 |
| Open Door Mission – Rochester, NY | Collaborating since 2023 |
| OSL (OPERATION: Sack Lunch) – Seattle, WA | Collaborating since 2013 |
| Paradise Valley Community Food Bank – Phoenix, AZ | Collaborating since 2017 |
| Portland Rescue Mission – Portland, OR | Collaborating since 2010 |
| Rethink Food – New York, NY | Collaborating since 2021 |
| The River Food Pantry – Madison, WI | Collaborating since 2019 |
| RoadRunner Food Bank – Albuquerque, NM | Collaborating since 2017 |
| Second Helpings Atlanta – Atlanta, GA | Collaborating since 2004 |
| South Shore Food Bank – Boston, MA | Collaborating since 2022 |
| Table to Table – Northern NJ | Collaborating since 1999 |
| The Action Center – Lakewood, CO | Collaborating since 2002 |
| University District Food Bank – Seattle, WA | Collaborating since 2005 |
| Venice Family Clinic – Venice, CA | Collaborating since 2021 |
| White Pony Express – Greater San Francisco Bay Area, CA | Collaborating since 2016 |
Nourishing Our Neighborhoods Program Expansion
Since the program inception in 2020, the Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program has expanded to now include Nourishing Our Neighborhoods mobile pantry events. These free events are farmers market-style events held in partnership with nonprofit food-rescue organizations participating in Whole Foods Market’s Grocery Rescue Program. Each event provides pantry staples and fresh produce for over 700 families facing food insecurity.
2023 mobile pantry partner recipients will be the first six organizations awarded a Nourishing Our Neighborhoods van in 2024. Watch the video about the program HERE.
Partners & Locations
| Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland | Cleveland, OH |
| Palm Beach Harvest | Palm Beach, FL |
| Second Servings of Houston | Houston, TX |
| Food For Free | Cambridge, MA |
| FoodCycle LA | Los Angeles, CA |
| Share Food Program | Philadelphia, PA |
