Extrafood.org Funding Opportunity

More than 49,000 people in Marin County worry about where their next meal will come from, including as many as 12,000 seniors and more than 12,000 children.

And while so many in our community struggle, millions of pounds of edible food and food scraps enter our landfills each year, creating methane gas and an enormous environmental problem. If global food waste were a country, it would rank 3rd in greenhouse gas production after the U.S. and China.

There is enough healthy food for all in Marin, but there is a critical, missing link between those who have it and those who need it. ExtraFood.org fills that gap through its innovative, countywide food recovery program. Their volunteers, dispatched online and by text message, pick up excess food from any Marin business – such as grocery stores, caterers, and farmers’ markets – and immediately deliver it to nonprofit partners serving our community’s most vulnerable children, adults and families. 

ExtraFood works to locate food donations of all types that match its partners’ needs – fresh produce, prepared food, dairy, eggs, meat, packaged goods, and baked goods. It focuses on the areas of greatest need, including the “food deserts” of the Canal, Marin City, and West Marin, where residents lack sufficient access to healthy, fresh, affordable food. ExtraFood complements the SF-Marin Food Bank by securing food donations that are not cost-effective for the Food Bank to pick up, and delivering food only to recipients with unmet needs.

In its first three years, ExtraFood has delivered more than 10,000 donations: 750,000 pounds of food from 150 donors to 78 sites throughout the county. They reach more than 5,000 people every month, operating free of charge 365 days a year. ExtraFood helps its partners serve more people, provide more complete and healthy meals, and shift food program funds to other needed services. 

Recipients include such organizations as Whistlestop, Homeward Bound, Marin Community Clinics, Marin City Community Services District, Boys & Girls Clubs, San Geronimo Valley Community Center, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and Catholic Charities Canal Family Support. Says Mary Kay Sweeney, Executive Director of Homeward Bound, “Your impressively organized and mission-driven system is key to the wellbeing of all in the community who struggle with food security.”

In a short time, ExtraFood has done much to grow our food system’s commitment to end food waste and alleviate hunger. However, recipients’ requests for food continue to far exceed ExtraFood’s supply. To accelerate towards the goal of delivering every available pound of excess fresh food, ExtraFood will significantly increase its “foodraising” effort: building awareness of its program, recruiting new food donors, and enlarging its volunteer team to get more food to more people in need.

To help ExtraFood build this capacity, through January 15, 2017 the Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund will match contributions from new donors up to a total of $20,000. If you’d like to help, grants to ExtraFood can be made from your donor-advised fund. For more information, contact your MCF philanthropic advisor or ExtraFood Founder Marv Zauderer at Marv@ExtraFood.org.