ProduceGood

Leverage new and existing supply channels in 2023 to collect and supply more than 900,000 servings of fresh produce to benefit the clients of 50+ feeding partners (active in year).

Engage 900 volunteers to perform the activities required to upcycle surplus produce from 800 growers throughout the county at farmers markets, on farms, from grocers and from residential fields and backyards.

Make the upcycling of surplus produce as ubiquitous and natural as recycling through efficient processes, sustainable practice and consistent support.

Support San Diego's ability to become the most equitable food system in the United States.

We engage in community gleaning practices on farms, in backyards, at local grocery stores and at farmers markets to benefit the 1 in 3 in San Diego County who are food-insecure through our two produce recovery programs, CropSwap and Market Share.

Our value proposition is unique in that we identify the source of excess produce and drive the activities required to move this surplus into our our Sustainable Produce Provision Network (SPPN). Success requires us to promote our services to the community, identify and bring on board food generators (local backyard residential growers and farmers), coordinate all upcycling activities, including the creation and execution of volunteer events to pick or receive the fresh produce, develop and manage receiving agency relationships, and assure the right amount of produce is being delivered so that we are not accidentally causing more waste.

We estimate that more than 90,000 individuals are touched annually by our supply to more than 50 feeding organizations.

ProduceGood was founded in 2014 as a non-profit by three women looking to alleviate both hunger and waste in San Diego County, beginning with a program that leveraged the power of a North County community initiative called CropSwap, spearheaded since 2010 by one of the founders, Nita Kurmins Gilson.

The founders' creativity, energy, individual professional backgrounds and skills and collective commitment to the ProduceGood mission are integral to ProduceGood's capabilities and capacity.

Two of the founders plus one full-time and one part-time employee comprise the head count for staff. These plus the third founder, who volunteers approximately 20 hours per week as an administrator, account for program and operations management, organization administration, program field operations and development. Add to this a dedicated and hands-on board and advisory group and it becomes more clear how a small organization can accomplish so much.

100 percent of our food rescue is accomplished by volunteers of all ages, beliefs and abilities. Occasionally we are able to contract with Urban Corps of San Diego for teams of corpsmembers and supervisors to be trained to glean for us but at this time there is no contract in place.

Our trajectory, by any measure, has been very steep, from 6,000 pounds | 18,000 servings supplied in 2014 to over 316,000 pounds | 948,000 fresh produce servings upcycled to feed those struggling with hunger in 2022. We have grown from a staff of 1 to a staff of 5. In 2014 we had 10 backyard growers and in 2023 we have 800 backyard growers and farmers. Our sustainable produce provision network has grown from one food bank at the outset to 80+ feeding partner (over 8 years) which give away our servings or package them with meals to benefit San Diego's most vulnerable. In 2022, we raised $467,000 in revenue with $202,416 as gift-in-kind produce produce donations. ProduceGood works locally, engaging communities to recover the excess and feed themselves. This is made possible by hundreds of volunteers, growers and community partners as well as an active and impactful board of directors.