A Common-Sense Approach to Food Insecurity and Food Waste, Interview with Food Forward’s Celia Cody-Carrese

The COVID-19 crisis has claimed nearly 1.5 million jobs in Los Angeles county since 2020 began. With a high number of people already living paycheck to paycheck, food insecurity has become a very real worry for many of our friends and neighbors. 

Thousands of agencies in Southern California are serving the rapidly growing group of Angelenos wondering how they will feed their families, and one major player meeting the need is Food Forward. 

Based in North Hollywood, Food Forward recovers surplus produce in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and donates those fruits and vegetables to 8 counties across Southern California. Their mission is to fight hunger and prevent food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce and connect that abundance with people in need. Since their inception they have rescued more than 93 million pounds of produce, which translates into more than 340 million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Food Forward’s Celia Cody-Carrese took a moment to tell us how their organization and its volunteers are simultaneously whittling down California’s mountain of food waste and putting food on the plates of thousands of food insecure.

TogetherLA: Where does Food Forward get their produce from, and who pays for it?

Food Forward: Food Forward collects fruits and vegetables from backyard fruit trees, farmers markets, and the Wholesale Produce Market in Downtown LA, and donates 100%, free of charge, to over 1,800 hunger relief agencies. Food Forward began in 2009 as a grassroots group of volunteers picking neighborhood fruit trees, and we are now a regional nonprofit with 35 staff members. We are still volunteer-powered, and last year over 4,000 volunteers recovered produce with us from fruit trees and farmers markets. Our funding comes from foundations, individuals supporters, corporations, special events, and other partnerships.

TogetherLA: Has the demand for your services increased due to COVID-19? 

Food Forward: Since the COVID-19 outbreak and related economic downturn, we have seen a significant increase in demand for fresh produce from our agency partners. Many of the hunger relief agencies we work with have reported seeing up to three times their normal volume of clients. At the same time, a lot of food pantries aren’t receiving normal donations of dry goods from grocery stores because they are selling out of food. Fruits and vegetables recovered by Food Forward help to cover this dip in donations and feed the influx of people experiencing food insecurity.

We’ve adapted in a few ways to meet this need— our Wholesale Recovery Program has experienced surges in donated produce, which has helped us to better meet the needs of the agencies we serve. We’ve also set up several Rapid Response Hubs that serve a group of hunger relief agencies in a region. We bring a truckload of different varieties of produce, and are able to distribute about 15,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables to a collective of local agencies. 

TogetherLA: Since you are volunteer driven, how are you coordinating services in light of  shelter-in-place orders? 

Food Forward: Food Forward’s community volunteer events are paused for the time being. However, some of our trained Pick Leaders and Glean Team Leaders, who normally lead teams of volunteers at Backyard Harvest and Farmers Market Gleaning events, are still volunteering with modifications. Pick Leaders can harvest fruit trees by themselves or with friends and family they cohabitate with. Glean Team Leaders are volunteering in pairs along with staff. In both cases all volunteers and staff are staying home if they feel sick, keeping 6 feet of physical distance, wearing masks at all times, handwashing frequently, and disinfecting equipment after the glean. 

TogetherLA: Where does Food Forward distribute all the produce it rescues?

Food Forward: There are several gleaning organizations in Southern California, including Food Finders in Long Beach, Produce Good in San Diego, and Backyard Bounty in Santa Barbara. We donate all of our produce, free of charge, directly to receiving agencies because they have established relationships in the community, and the infrastructure to accept and distribute food. Our Produce Pick-Up program does directly distribute to community members in collaboration with community-based organizations. We’ve found this is a really great model to get produce to communities where there aren’t as many food pantries. 

TogetherLA: Is the coronavirus crisis causing disruptions in your supply chain?

Food Forward: So far, the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in more donations from our produce donors at the Wholesale Produce Market. As a result of restaurants, stadiums, schools, and more businesses shutting or scaling down their operations, many sellers do not have buyers for their produce and are choosing to donate it. We’ve seen reports of more fruits and vegetables (as well as other food products) going to waste on farms across the country. The key word here is more—pre-COVID-19, up to 40% of the food we produce was going to waste in the US. Food is wasted on the farm, in processing and transport, and at grocery stores—but most food waste happens at the consumer level. As individual purchasers and consumers of food, we have a lot of power to reduce food waste. Some easy tips are to plan meals and make a grocery list, start a compost bin, and rethink “scraps” (for example, carrot top greens make a delicious pesto!). 

TogetherLA: Are you still able to rescue excess produce from farmers markets during this time?

Food Forward: In general, farmers markets are open—each farmers market must have a COVID-19 operational plan approved by the City of LA. Farmers Markets are considered essential businesses, and many farmers are still able to sell their fruits and vegetables. Some farmers are adapting by offering CSA-style boxes, so customers can receive a delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables. Food Forward is currently gleaning several markets in Los Angeles with our new safety procedures. 

TogetherLA: If people want to get involved, how can they do so?

Food Forward: There are still lots of ways for folks to get involved! We encourage people to sign up for our newsletter at foodforward.org/freshjuice. It’s a great way to stay updated about any opportunities to engage with our work. If you have fruit trees that produce more than you can eat, we encourage you to do a “DIY” pick and harvest your own fruit. You can give it to friends and neighbors, or contact Food Forward to donate your fruit atfoodforward.org/fruittrees. If you are able to make a financial donation, that’s another great way to support our work and make sure that more fruits and vegetables are going to folks who can use them, instead of going to waste.