Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Food Rescue Program
Our Food Rescue Program operates 365 days a year and engages more than 700 food donors and 400 recipient partner pantries, shelters, missions and more. Hundreds of volunteers help pick-up and deliver donated food from food vendors through 350 weekly food routes. In 2020, we rescued 17.6 million pounds of food (82% fresh fruits & vegetables, meats and other perishable food items).
Where we work
Awards
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total pounds of food rescued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Food Rescue Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Over 31 years, we have rescued more than 158 million pounds of food which is tracked via reports provided by the staff drivers and volunteers that implement the Food Rescue Program.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
2016 Measurable Goals & Objectives
• To increase the pounds of donated food rescued in 2016 from 7.9 million to 8.5 million
by December 31, 2016. (6% increase)
• To increase the number of food donors in 2016 from 540 to 576
by December 31, 2016. (7% increase) (Equals 36 new food donors in 2016)
• To increase the number of recipient agencies in 2016 from 232 to 262
by December 31, 2016. (13% increase) (Equals 30 new recipient agencies in 2016)
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Goal 1: Donated Food = 8.5 million lbs. We will achieve this by continuing to nurture existing relationships and developing new relationships with business food donors.
Goal 2: Food Donors = 576 total food donors. We will achieve this by developing new relationships with business food donors.
Goal 3: Recipient Agencies = 262 total recipient agencies. We will achieve this by developing new relationships with business food donors, which will enable us to add additional “recipient agencies".
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have been implementing our Food Rescue Program for 27 years, and over that time period, we have developed an extremely functional system to coordinate and track the donated food, we have also established key strategic partnerships with local food related businesses, school districts and environmental services departments of local governments that help us meet our programmatic goals.
We are continually outreaching to new food donor prospects, new recipient agencies and new volunteers to help us achieve our mission to eliminate hunger by reducing food waste.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
From January 1, 2016 through April 30, 2016, we rescued 2.85 million pounds of food from being wasted, which went to alleviate hunger of those we serve through our various recipient agencies. This has an in-kind value of $4,913,725 and is enough food to provide 2.4 million meals.
The ultimate goal that we have yet to accomplish is to encourage each and every food related business in the communities that we serve to participate in a Food Recovery Program, such as Food Finders "Food Rescue Program".
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Since we do not serve food insecure people directly, we survey our recipient agencies annually to assess our program effectiveness and gain feedback from their clientele on how to improve our program to meet their basic needs. Our mission is to eliminate hunger and food waste while improving nutrition in food insecure communities, and our recipient agencies help us fulfill our mission by connecting the food we receive to their food insecure clients.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), via our Recipient Agency Coordinators,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
Due to the pandemic, many of our agencies have struggled with their own volunteer base and/or staff drivers to help receive the donated food via our program. We have been able to assign our own community volunteers to take over those food rescue routes, and help our recipient agencies make sure they continue to receive donated food assigned to benefit their program.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
Our agencies know they have an ally in Food Finders. We are not only a resource for them to receive free food, but our Partner Agency Coordinators also mentor them as they develop their food distribution programs, or as they struggled to overcome the impact of the pandemic, we helped many of them pivot to grab-and-go food distributions.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Many of our agencies are very small and collecting data/using technology is a challenge for them,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Food Finders, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Shankar Ram
Retired Business Owner-IT Industry
Term: 2020 - 2022
Garrett Brief
Morey & Upton and Team 100 (Food4Kids) Member
Ryan Kwong
CA Resources Corp.
Pamela Weinstein
Long Beach Unified School District
Linda Simpkins
Long Beach Unified School District PTA Board and Food Finders Volunteer
Ed Nauman
Tech Consultant
Jeff Pace
Banc of California
Nishat Ahmed
Michael Hopkins/Harmony Bites
Maryjane Canyon
Electro Mavin
Gary Burkard
Cetera Financial
Ikeme Mmeje
Memorial Healthcare-Long Beach
Arshad Rokerya
Commercial Bank of California
Brenda McCabe
Next Act Advisors
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: