We refer to our partner community food access organizations as “Operators” because they are “operating” the Fresh Food Connect platform in their local communities.

Our Operators reflect the many types of organizations who support community food access, including food pantries, food banks, gardening organizations, and others. What all these organizations share is a commitment to healthy food access, and a desire to engage more community members in their work. We approach our work in a partnership model: we’re a tool and a resource, a value-add to the work you’re doing. Each Operator uses Fresh Food Connect in the way that best suits their needs.

It depends. Our experience is that Operators who consistently invest in outreach to local gardeners see more gardeners engaging with them, whether through produce donation, volunteering, or financial donation. While the total amount of produce may be less than what might be sourced from grocery chains or food banks, the quality is incomparable. Additionally, gardeners who connect with our Operators to donate produce often continue to engage in other ways.

Not necessarily; however, a clear alignment with your programs is important.

Several of our Operators focus primarily on gardening, and share the produce they gather with other local organizations who in turn handle the distribution in the community.

While there may be a few, it is the Operator’s role to build connections to their local gardening community. Fresh Food Connect provides outreach support tools that are activated by our Operators in their local communities.

We are committed to building long-term partnerships with our Operators, and the licensing fees help offset a portion of our technology expenses. We have tried to make sure this fee is not a barrier to our partnerships, and it can be waived in certain circumstances. Our fee structure is available here.

It depends on how we fit into your existing programs. Once you’re set up, the program itself doesn’t take much maintenance. We have found that Operators who allocate a few hours a week for gardener outreach and engagement have the most success.

We provide a variety of tools and templates, so our Operators can simply add their logo and slot into their existing marketing activities.

No, but it helps if you can. Many gardeners appreciate the convenience of scheduling a pick-up, and leaving the produce at the door.