Food Forward Inc.

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

In 2022, staff leadership participated in Bridgespan’s Leading for Impact cohort and developed an assessment tool to guide programmatic decisions based on our core values and theory of change as the organization grows. We’ve also continued our journey on diversity, equity, and inclusion by reinvigorating an internal working group and continuing staff and board trainings.

Core to our values is the belief that the advancement of society happens through community-based change. Food Forward forges strong relationships with more than 260 hunger relief agencies to distribute recovered produce to clients, completely free of charge. Rick Nahmias, Food Forward Founder/CEO, participates in networks of multiple organizations committed to food equity as a member of the Los Angeles County Food Equity Roundtable and a Leadership Circle member at the LA Food Policy Council. Additionally, Food Forward is proud to speak and write on our produce recovery and distribution efforts to build awareness of our mission to fight food insecurity and reduce food waste.

Remaining nimble and regularly evaluating our workflow and impact is an enormous advantage for our programmatic work. After an expansion in response to the pandemic in 2020, Food Forward has consistently rescued and distributed over 60 million pounds of produce in each of the last three years – a 130% increase over 2019. Over the last year, Food Forward has prioritized developing new produce sources and expanding its organizational capacity to distribute an increasing volume of fresh food donations. In 2023, Food Forward will recover 80 million pounds of produce, the highest volume in the organization's history. As we look to the next phase of Food Forward’s growth journey, we will further build our networks of volunteers, produce donors, and partner organizations that best know how to serve their community members with the food we provide.