Borderlands Produce Rescue

The mission of Borderlands Produce Rescue is to rescue produce and in turn improve the quality of peoples' lives, by addressing their most basic of needs - accessibility to nutritious fresh produce and living in a healthy environment.

Each year our small nonprofit of only 5 staff members, and thousands of volunteers, rescued between 20 to 30 million pounds of produce. In 28 years we have:

- Prevented 750 million pounds of food waste;
- Diverted 53 million pounds of methane emissions from our landfills; and
- Supplemented over 272 million meals with a healthy side of fruits and vegetables.

Unlike other nonprofits, we do not receive any federal dollars, or private grant funds. We instead rely solely on community donations to do the work we do. This is not by accident, we prefer to be accountable to the community, and work with only one goal in mind, to serve the needs of the community. We are a people driven nonprofit committed to protecting the environment by rescuing produce, and bringing it to communities across Arizona.

We currently need to raise money to help us with the purchase of a new (used) truck. Having a another truck will allow us to rescue more produce, and more importantly, it will allow us to partner with more nonprofits to bring our rescued produce to more communities. We currently partner with 30+ nonprofit organizations, however we have been unable to reach new locations because we lack the trucks to transport our rescued produce.

Testimonials

"I don't have words to express the amount of joy I get at being able to receive a HUGE box of produce. Not just for the nutritional value - I've tried foods I've never tried before, and I'm having so much fun learning to cook foods in different ways! Not to mention, I usually have leftovers and so I can bring these items to people who similarly don't have access to the type of food they'd like to have access to. It's community in action, and it's all thanks to you guys." -Anne

"I am so thankful for your program! My family has never been able to eat as healthy as we have been able to since we have begun receiving your produce boxes. We can't believe that such good produce would ever be dumped in the landfill, and we thank god that your organization is able to not only save this produce, but also make it available for families like ours. Thank you so much!" -Maria

"On behalf of the Safford community, we are so thankful for your program and for being one of few food banks that come all the way over here to make sure we have access to fresh produce. I go to other food banks and they only have processed food, not fresh veggies like you bring us. I love your program because not only do I have produce for myself but also enough to share with 2 other families. Thank you for helping us eat healthy." -Anthony