FRESH Program
Providing nutritious food at no cost to Hunger Relief Partners
FRESH Program
Need doesn’t have an expiration. When the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program expired in May 2021, Food Bank of the Rockies’ FRESH Program picked up where the government emergency program left off.
The FRESH Program sources quality produce from in-state and out-of-state producers for distribution to our Hunger Relief Partners at no cost. Food Bank of the Rockies’ goal is to distribute 1.2 million pounds of fruit and vegetables a month throughout our service area so every individual in our community can access fresh, nutritious produce items.
Clients are invited to visit our partners for hunger-relief commodities. Use our Find Food locator to locate a Hunger Relief Partner near you.
FRESH Program by the Numbers
With the FRESH Program, nutritious produce is available free of cost for distribution by our Hunger Relief Partners
We have had some amazing local produce come through the FRESH Program, including specialty, culturally responsive items such as nopales, corn, mangos, pineapples, and avocados.
Thai Nguyen, founder of Kaizen Food Rescue, Denver, CO
FAQs
Seasonal and assorted types and varieties of produce are available through the FRESH Program. Food Bank of the Rockies works to locate, procure, and distribute a variety of fresh, nutritious food items throughout the year.
Partners can order produce using Partner Express for either pick up or inclusion in their regular delivery.
A number of Hunger Relief Partners receive full pallets or mixed pallets of three to four different produce items in each delivery.
Partner agencies interested in receiving FRESH deliveries should contact partnersupport@foodbankrockies.org.
Food Bank of the Rockies is committed to sourcing as many of our produce items as possible from local and regional growers while still providing a variety of fresh options through the whole year.
There are 25 in-state growers we work with regularly including:
- Hungenberg Produce, Greely, CO
- Petrocco Farms, Inc., Brighton, CO
- MountainKing® Potatoes, Monte Vista, CO
- Talbott’s Mountain Gold, Palisade, CO
- Tuxedo Corn, Olathe, CO
- Dionisio Produce, Pueblo, CO
- Hirakata Farms, Rocky Ford, CO
Many of our Hunger Relief Partners receive items weekly through the FRESH Program. FRESH items are also offered via all of our Mobile Pantries. To find food in your area, visit foodbankrockies.org/find-food
Our agricultural partners grow fresh produce and our volunteer packing department packs cases, pallets, and mixed pallets for delivery. These cases and pallets of nutritious produce are then delivered to our partners for distribution to our clients and communities.
While much of our FRESH produce is distributed through our normal ordering system, larger FRESH deliveries are also available for our partners. Once a Food Bank of the Rockies Hunger Relief Partner enrolls in the FRESH Program, a delivery schedule can be tailored individually for each participating agency.
Partners can order FRESH produce on Partner Express either for pick up or as part of their regular deliveries.
Agencies interested in receiving FRESH deliveries should contact partnersupport@foobankrockies.org with questions and to enroll.
FRESH produce is already available through Partner Express. Partners are able to order items either for pick up or as part of the regular delivery schedule.
Partners who have ability to distribute a full pallet or mixed pallet of produce (1,000-1,200 pounds) on a weekly basis, plus the storage space and distribution models to quickly distribute this volume of produce, are encouraged to enroll with Partner Support for larger deliveries.
Full or mixed pallets with three to four different types of items are available for delivery.
Agencies interested in receiving FRESH deliveries should contact partnersupport@foobankrockies.org with questions and to enroll.
Food Bank of the Rockies proudly offers FRESH Program food items at no cost to all of our Hunger Relief Partners; it is their choice to order the product or not. We also offer FRESH items at all of our 70+ Mobile Pantries.
To find food in your area, visit our Find Food locator at foodbankrockies.org/find-food.
The funding for the FRESH Program comes out of Food Bank of the Rockies’ general operations budget. The cost of this program is approximately $300,000 per month, with $240,000 per month for sourcing and procurement.
To donate to help keep fresh, nutritious produce nourishing our communities, please click here.
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