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The Latest News:

Food Gatherers receives Charity Navigator "4-Star Charity"

rating for the fifth year in a row!

Charity Navigator is America's premier independent charity evaluator. They help charitable givers make intelligent giving decisions by providing in-depth, objective ratings and analysis of the financial health of America's largest charities. Charity Navigator awarded four out of a possible four stars. In earning Charity Navigator's highest four star rating, Food Gatherers has demonstrated exceptional financial health, outperforming most of our peers in our efforts to manage and grow our finances in the most fiscally responsible way possible. Please click on the logo to review our four star rating.

Food Gatherers featured in the University of

Michigan School of Public Health's Publication, "Findings"

Crisis Management - A sudden "tidal wave" of need means new challenges for one of the country's oldest food-rescue agencies... read more...

What's Growin' On at Food Gatherers?

We're thinking big!

Food Gatherers is pleased to be a recipient of the Pfizer/Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Big Idea Grant. The grant will fund a handful of collaborative initiatives to grow more healthy food for low income people.

Partners include Avalon Housing, Project Grow, Growing Hope, Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, and Washtenaw County Public Health.

To learn about our "Big Community Harvest" projects and initiatives, please CLICK HERE.

Grillin’ for Food Gatherers 2010 - Sunday, June 13th!

Grillin' 2009 was a success!

Thank you to everyone who joined in the fight against hunger through Food Gatherers' 20th annual fundraiser!

We had great weather, great music, delicious food and wonderful volunteers and guests... and with a record crowd of about 1,800 people, we were able to raise more money than ever before! Our silent auction also surpassed expectations. Proceeds enable us to distribute more than 4.2 million pounds of food annually to 150 non-profit programs throughout Washtenaw County.

Food Gatherers Releases Results of Recent

Food Security Study

Thanks to funding from The United Way of Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and the Knight Foundation, Food Gatherers researched the reality of food insecurity in our County and our network of non-profit providers’ current capacity to address it.

Read the Executive Summary for highlights of the study. The appendix includes data and supporting documents. If citing this report, please reference it as Food Gathereres’ Food Security Plan.

Executive Summary:

FGFOODSECURITYexecutive.summary.pdf

Appendix:

FGFOODSECURITYappendix.pdf

Rockin' for the Hungry

Rockin' 2008 raises 226 tons of food!!

The community came out strong to help Food Gatherers fight hunger in Washtenaw County! With key support from Busch’s Fresh Food Market and ann arbor’s 107one, the community was able to raise 226 tons of food to help our neighbors in need in Southeast Michigan.

Volunteers and radio personalities braved the cold and snow to collect food for Food Gatherers’ largest outdoor food drive. The community responded by donating more than ever before. With the efforts of volunteers, and generous contributions from sponsors Spartan Foods, Wachovia Securities, Keebler, Sesi Lincoln Mercury, Prairie Farms Dairy, IBEW Local 252, Frito Lay, United Bank & Trust, and NSF International, this event exceeded last years totals. The generous support allows Food Gatherers to meet the urgent and pressing demand for food in our own community.

Since its inception in 1988, Food Gatherers has distributed more than 33 million pounds of food in our community. Food Gatherers is Washtenaw County’s food bank and food rescue program. Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes in our community by reducing food waste through the rescue and distribution of perishable and non-perishable food, coordinating with other hunger relief providers, educating the public about hunger, and developing new food resources.

Thanks to everyone in the community who gave food, time and money to help fight hunger where we live.

Rockin' 2008 Press Release PDF

For info on volunteering, please give us a call at 734-761-2796 or email missy@foodgatherers.org .

Community Kitchen

In November, 2003, Food Gatherers opened the Community Kitchen - a non-profit commercial kitchen which uses rescued and donated food to create meals for those in need. The kitchen is located in the Delonis Center, which provides services to homeless people and those at risk. The intent of Food Gatherers' Community Kitchen is to use collective resources more efficiently to feed people in need, and to use food as a tool to engage and nourish the entire community.

The Community Kitchen is a permanent home for several community meal programs which had been at multiple sites. Consolidating these sites has provided guests and volunteers with a more consistent experience and enables Food Gatherers to be better stewards of donated food. Before the kitchen existed, we would decline donations of food that were too large or difficult to prepare: whole sides of pork ribs, 50lb roasts or buckets of fresh tofu.

Having an actual commercial kitchen has also enriched the job training/life skills program for special needs students such as the award winning YMCA Chain of Plenty. Volunteers are capturing the bounty of the summer harvest and transforming fresh produce into shelf stable items for use during the winter. Fresh ripe tomatoes have been converted into hearty sauces, fresh corn into corn fritters, and hundreds of pounds organic carrots were chopped and frozen for later use.

We’re very proud of the work being done at the Community Kitchen. This is just the beginning of more good things to come. We’d like to thank the dedicated volunteers who have helped make the Kitchen a success, including religious organizations, service groups, businesses, student groups and many individuals.

We cannot do this without your support. Please consider becoming a Community Kitchen Sponsor. If you’d like to learn more about the Community Kitchen, or take a tour, please contact us!

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Community Kitchen.

Community Kitchen Job Training Program

Food Gatherers Community Kitchen Job Training Program provides low-income and at-risk youth (ages 17-22) with instruction in basic culinary arts, food safety and sanitation, work ethics and life skills. During their training, students produce meals for the community while learning valuable skills. Providing young adults with job training at the beginning of their independent years will build a firm foundation for future success and self-sufficiency, increasing prospects for higher-paying jobs while decreasing the chances of entering the shelter system or other emergency services.

Food Gatherers is currently partners with youth programs, including Ozone House, Community Action Network, Avalon Housing, the Department of Human Services and hte Shelter Association of Washtenaw County. Ozone house partners with Food Gatherers to provide job skills training, including placement and retention programs that assist our staff in securing long-term and successful employment for the students. Food Gatherers has also partnered with local food businesses to offer employment opportunities, and with Washtenaw Community College, which offers financial aid in their open-enrollment Culinary Arts Program for qualified students who wish to pursue a Culinary Degree.

We have recently added a paid internship component to our Job Training Program. This allows us to provide additional training and specialized one-on-one instruction to graduates. Interns gain valuable experience while helping prepare meals for Community Kitchen Guests and off-site meal programs. Additionally, interns help out at our food distribution center on Carrot Way and at the Ozone House Drop-In Center.

Food Gatherers is building upon the success of the first seven graduating classes and will hold the next training sessions in Spring/Summer 2009. Food production and meal service at the Community Kitchen continues throughout the year with the help of volunteers.

Food Gatherers Community Kitchen Job Training Program holds graduation ceremony for 6th and 7th classes on August 22nd, 2008

Food Gatherers' Community Kitchen Job Training Program is part of our organization's overall effort to not merely alleviate hunger but to end hunger. Students obtain marketable skills and at the same time they are feeding our neighbors in need. By targeting young adults who are often recipients of food assistance, we hope to help them secure gainful employment in the food industry. We also get to give back to local food donors who so generously support Food Gatherers - - our training curriculum reflects the skills and experience that local food service employers are seeking. It's a win-win situation for our students, our donors and our community.

On August 22nd, 2008, 14 more students graduated from our program - bringing the total number of graduates since the program's start to nearly 50! Students have found employment, gone back to complete school, enrolled in WCC and have even come back to visit the program and encourage new students in their culinary endeavors.

The online "Ann Arbor Chronicle" wrote a great article, which can be seen here: http://annarborchronicle.com/2008/08/22/graduation-golden-spatulas/

We're very proud of the accomplishments of our graduates. Many of them have faced daunting challenges, including homelessness, mental illness, health issues, substance abuse, learning disabilities and family trauma. If you'd like more information on this program, please contact us.

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Make Way for Carrot Way!

Can you believe that November 16th, 2009 marks our 6th anniversary at Carrot Way? We've been consistently increasing our food rescue and distribution efforts, and in the past year, distributed more than 4.5 million pounds of food to partner agencies in Washtenaw County!

Food Gatherers’ new facility on Carrot Way (right next to where our old building was located) is designed to accommodate the bounty of food and volunteer support that this community regularly donates. It is 16,550 square feet (more than double the size of the recycled slaughterhouse that we previously operated from since 1992) and is designed specifically for food rescue, food banking and food distribution. Our old building was demolished to make room for low-income housing units built by Avalon Housing, and the whole development is known as Carrot Way. We have been distributing food from our new building since November 2003.

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