PLATINUM2022

NOURISH NOW, INC.

Giving Surplus Value

aka Nourish Now   |   Rockville, MD   |  www.nourishnow.org

Mission

Nourish Now's mission is to solve two major social issues simultaneously: food waste and hunger. Fresh food is recovered from restaurants, caterers, farms and other licensed food providers throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Food is then donated directly to families in need and partner organizations to help support their food distribution efforts.

Ruling year info

2011

Founder & Executive Director

Mr. Brett Meyers

Main address

397 E Gude Dr

Rockville, MD 20850 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

45-2404503

NTEE code info

Food Service, Free Food Distribution Programs (K30)

Food Banks, Food Pantries (K31)

Food Service, Free Food Distribution Programs (K30)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Nourish Now addresses the issues that stem from food insecurity and fresh food waste. In the United States, over 292,000,000 pounds of food is wasted annually, while over 50,000,000 people are considered food insecure. Due to the pandemic, an estimated 17 million additional people faced food insecurity. Because of widespread safety concerns from the rise of COVID-19, the methods in which food could be distributed had to be altered, while simultaneously the availability of food recovery resources dwindled. When food is discarded and sent to landfills, as it decomposes, it causes methane; a greenhouse gas that is considered 100 times more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. This leads to food waste causing an estimated 14% of the world's CO2 admissions. All of the elements that are used to produce food are wasted and disposed of when discarding food; for example, $172 billion in fresh water is wasted yearly.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Food Rescue

Nourish Now’s cornerstone program specializes in recovering food of all types throughout Maryland and the DC metro region. While averaging 7-10 scheduled food recoveries each business day, Nourish Now is on-call for anytime, spur-of-the-moment food recovery opportunities, including nights and weekends at 240.750.0747.


Food Donor Partners contribute according to their own unique schedules. While some donations are scheduled daily, weekly or bi-weekly, other partners donate monthly, or notify us when food is available. Nonperishable items are collected through volunteer food drives with local businesses, schools, and religious institutions to supplement our perishable food donations, providing our clients with greater flexibility to budget and plan their meals ahead of time.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

700 families receive donations from our food bank in Rockville, MD each month through our Family Distribution Program. Each five-day supply of food is tailored based on the dietary restrictions and food allergies of each client’s household. Through additional satellite distributions, we donate prepared meals, loaves of bread and fresh produce for public housing projects, elder care, social service agencies, recreation centers and Montgomery County Public Schools. Under a philosophy we call Food With Dignity, families are matched with other forms of assistance and resources to help them alleviate different symptoms of poverty.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Adults

90 nonprofit organizations receive an array of recovered food, including prepared meals, fresh produce, breads and frozen goods through our Organization Distribution Program. In receiving these donations, organizations have the opportunity to distribute a wider variety of nutritious foods and a more balanced diet to a greater number of those in need, while reserving funding that would otherwise be spent on food purchases. The resulting network provides assistance for diverse populations throughout the region and includes shelters, transitional and affordable housing facilities, religious institutions, family support agencies and other nonprofit organizations serving our communities.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Adults

Where we work

Awards

Jac J. Lehrman & George M. Pikser Award 2018

Jewish Social Service Agency

People's Choice Award 2021

UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD

Best Structural Ingenuity Award 2021

UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

Social and economic status, Age groups

Related Program

Food Rescue

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

In total over 14 million pounds of food has been recovered since Nourish Now began operating.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Since 2011, Nourish Now has strived to expand the number of people we provide food assistance to. COVID-19 brought several changes to the overall methods in which we received and donated food. In 2020, the organization made the decision to ensure the safety of all of our volunteers, clients we serve, and staff by changing our model of individuals and families who came to our location to pick up a five-day supply of food monthly. We created an off-site food distribution model to replace the in-house distribution model we formally ran. Our 2022 key goals are to continue to evolve our new model of off-site distributions, expand our support of partner nonprofit organizations through bulk donations of collected food and related supplies weekly, continue to reestablish our food recovery operations and add new food donor partners, continue our Bread Program which we provide to all eight County hubs, and continue our Healthy SNACK Program which donated to over 2,000 students weekly at local schools as schools were closed indefinitely due to the pandemic.
Another goal in 2022 is to continue to be able to evolve our programs as we are now in a ever-changing world because of the impacts brought on by COVID-19.

Off-site distributions: In March 2020, Nourish Now created the Multi-Cultural Mobile Food Assistance Program to help those most in need because of the pandemic. Using U.S. Census Bureau data and information from the State of Maryland, we were able to target multiple neighborhoods in Montgomery County, MD, with residents of greatest need. That is, we checked family and individual income, poverty levels and unemployment rates.
The program involves distributing nutritious meals directly to “food deserts,” neighborhoods with poor access to grocery stores and transportation. Specifically, we distribute Family Relief Boxes containing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a family of four for five days. The boxes also include fresh produce, prepared meals, dairy and nonperishable items.

Food Recovery: Our strategy is to continue the system of food recovery the organization has been tirelessly working on since our founding in 2011. Additionally, we are connecting to our longstanding food donor base by reestablishing all potential food recovery opportunities as the entire food industry continues to expand and reopen.

School Distributions: We are gathering all of the data in reference to the upcoming school year. Also, we are collecting, learning and implementing all of the new safety measures according to the CDC and local Department of Health and Human Services.

Through evolving as an organization over the past eleven years, we have established our method of maximizing the time, effort and funding that is taken to fulfill as many children, families and seniors in need with wholesome, nourishing, food donations.
Our staff and ever-expanding volunteer base provide us the day-to-day support to cover each day's workload and the flexibility to recover food that is a spur of the moment donation.
Food is picked up and transported in refrigerated vehicles to maximize the time and distance we are able to travel for each individually. As well as a variety of food warehouse equipment, walk-in refrigeration, freezers, shelving and more for the proper storage of all of the types of food collected.
We have a wide range of talent and expertise on staff including chefs and additional food service industry experienced workers, professional writers, CPA's, educators, military servicemen and women, and more.
Along with the above mentioned, our Board of Directors offers decades of high-level experience in various professions.

- Nourish Now runs fourteen off-site distributions weekly

- Nourish Now donates a five-day supply of food directly to over 2,000 families weekly

- Nourish Now provides thousands of pounds of food to other organizations who proceeded to distribute this food to a vast number of individuals and families during the course of their periodic events/distributions

- Nourish Now donates over 3,000 prepared meals weekly

- Nourish Now surpassed 14 million pounds of food recovered and donated

- Nourish Now delivers a five day supply of food to over 40 households weekly

- Nourish Now provides healthy snacks to 2,000 Montgomery County Public Schools students daily

- Nourish Now provides bread to all 8 Montgomery County Hubs weekly

- Nourish Now provides 3 meals a day, 7 days per week to individuals who are homeless

Financials

NOURISH NOW, INC.
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

NOURISH NOW, INC.

Board of directors
as of 07/13/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Mike Maloney

Credibility International

Jack Bell

Mike Maloney

Credibility International

Paul Newman

Laura Calderone

Relish Catering, LLC

Marty Feldman

Progress Club

Nadia Singh

Infectious Diseases Society of America

Jeff Williams

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

Dave Ross

Ross & Associates, P.C

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 3/17/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/07/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.