Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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Specialty Food Foundation 2015 Grant Recipients Announced The Specialty Food Foundation, which is dedicated to funding hunger relief and food recovery efforts, has announced its list of 2015 grant recipients. Each of the nonprofits who will receive this year's grants—totaling more than $400,000— were selected by the Foundation for their innovative and groundbreaking approaches to ending hunger and food waste, as well as building community. Food waste and hunger relief remain serious issues in America: 40 percent of all food produced in the U.S. goes to waste, while 50 million Americans lack consistent access to food. This is the second year that the Specialty Food Foundation, which was established by the Specialty Food Association, has given grants to deserving nonprofits. All submissions were reviewed by the Foundation staff and its board of directors, and grants were given to a total of 23 recipients this year. Last year, the Foundation awarded grants to 14 organizations. "Hunger and food waste are twin problems in our society, and these organizations are addressing them in creative ways in their communities. These grants will help them refine and expand their important work," says Ron Tanner, vice president, philanthropy, government and industry relations for the Specialty Food Foundation. The 2015 grant recipients are as follows: 18 Reasons (San Francisco). 18 Reasons builds commu- nity, both through paid programming in its classroom and free programming in low-income communities across the Bay Area. Its Cooking Matters program offers free six-week-long cooking and nutrition series to 2,500 low-income residents each year. 18reasons.org America's Grow-a-Row, Inc. (Pittstown, New Jersey). America's Grow-a-Row grows and gleans fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables that are then donated to those facing hunger and those living in "food deserts"—areas lacking access to fresh, affordable produce—throughout the state of New Jersey. With the help of more than 5,000 volunteers, America's Grow-A-Row has donated more than 4.8 million pounds—or 19.2 million servings— of food to those suffering from hunger across New Jersey. americasgrowarow.org AmpleHarvest.org (Newfoundland, New Jersey). AmpleHarvest.org educates, encourages, and enables 42 million home/community gardeners throughout the U.S. to donate their excess harvest and enable nearby food pantries to accept their bounty, thereby helping to provide fresh food to hungry families while eliminating food waste. It hopes to increase the number of pantries capable of accepting its fresh food to 10,000 by the end of 2016. ampleharvest.org Ceres Community Project (Sebastapool, California). Ceres Community Project teaches youth how to grow organic food and prepare organic meals that are deliv- ered for free to low-income families struggling with a serious health challenge. With four program sites in Northern California and a dozen communities nationally that have replicated its model, it reimagines the tradi- tional meal delivery program. ceresproject.org DC Central Kitchen (Washington, D.C.). DC Central Kitchen operates under the belief that waste is fun- damentally wrong—whether in the form of food or human potential. It uses recovered food to feed hungry members of the city, collaborating with local farmers to purchase their 'imperfect' produce, and developing innovative food association partnerships to provide food industry jobs to chronically unemployed adults. This year, it will provide healthy food and opportunities for economic advancement to 13,000 at-risk residents. dccentralkitchen.org ExtraFood.org (San Rafael, California). ExtraFood.org's mission is to help end hunger and waste in Marin County, California, where more than 40,000 people do not have a secure food supply. ExtraFood.org picks up excess fresh food from any business—grocery stores, farmers' markets, and restaurants—and immediately delivers the food to nonprofits that serve Marin's most vulnerable children, adults, and families. In two years, ExtraFood delivered more than 400,000 pounds of food—over 300,000 meals—to 64 sites serving thousands of low- income residents across the county. extrafood.org Farmer Foodshare (Chapel Hill, North Carolina). Farmer Foodshare connects people who grow food with people who need food in ways that are economically sustain- able and socially just. It believes everyone deserves access to fresh healthy food, and that farmers should make a healthy living growing it—a system where every- body wins. farmerfoodshare.org association news 114 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com