We Are Produce Rescue!

 

For the past 24 years Borderlands Produce Rescue has been creating awareness of the importance of rescuing produce through their many initiatives. As one of the leading produce rescue organizations, Borderlands can count on a call from one of their partner organizations when there is an excess of fresh produce. It is because of these relationships, Borderlands has been able to rescue between 30 to 40 MILLION pounds of fresh produce annually.

Donate $25 and help rescue OVER 2000lbs of fresh produce!

Learn More: Borderlands Produce Rescue

Our Distribution Programs

Borderlands distributes our rescued produce through four of our main programs. With these programs we are able to “recycle” over 35 million pounds of fresh produce each year. Each of our programs are vital to the operation of Borderlands, and allows us to remain connected to the needs of our community and be kind to the environment.

 

Veggies “R” Us International

Through our Veggies “R” Us program we make fresh produce available for pick-up by community members or organizations internationally. Anyone, whether you live in Mexico, or throughout Arizona, is able to take advantage of this program. All of the agencies and individuals served through Veggis “R” Us must be enrolled with Borderlands.

Learn more: Veggies “R” Us

P.O.W.W.O.W. – Weekly Arizona Markets

Produce on Wheels With-Out Waste (P.O.W.W.O.W.) works with local churches, universities, civic organizations and community groups to host weekend distribution sites. Active weekly markets hosted in Metro Tucson, Metro Phoenix, Sierra Vista, Huachuca City, Arizona City, Maricopa, Casa Grande, Safford and many other cities.

At each site, community members can shop for up to 70lbs of fresh produce for a contribution of just $12.

Learn More: P.O.W.W.O.W.

Community Engagement

Through Produce on Wheels after hours, our newly launched Veterans Exact Thanks (VETs) program and our partnership with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Borderlands is able to ensure that our mission is served by creating opportunities for community members to be engaged on issues of food insecurity, food waste and produce rescue.

Learn More: Community Engagement

How We’re Making a Difference!

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Rescuing Produce & Nourishing Families. One Pound at a Time.

MILES DRIVEN
LB’S OF PRODUCE DISTRIBUTED
LB’S OF PRODUCE RESCUED
VOLUNTEER HOURS

 

Recycling


We are not always able to distribute all of the produce we rescue. Instead of sending this excess produce to a landfill, Borderlands partners with local ranchers and composting programs to recycle any unusable produce.
During the 2015/2016 produce season 13% of our rescued produce was no longer usable, however 90% of this was sent directly to our recycling partners, and not the landfill.

Learn More: Recycling

CNN: Fighting Food Waste at the Border

More than one thousand commercial trucks cross the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz. every day, many of them filled with produce. Much of that food would go to waste if not for the efforts of one nonprofit. Borderlands Produce Rescue saves between 30 and 40 million pounds of produce annually and redistributes it to families in 24 U.S. states. That’s doing good work!

Borderlands’ vision is keep as much produce out of the landfills as humanly possible, helping our environment and distributing this produce to those in need, helping our community.

CNN honored Borderlands by designating them as “The Big Story”. Watch the Segment.

Partnership with the UofA College of Social Science and Behavioral Science

View how the partnership with the University of Arizona College of Social Science and Behavioral Science department has allowed many people to eat healthy and help curb food waste by reducing green gas from the landfill.

How we make a difference

Every produce season Borderlands delivers between 30 to 40 million pounds of fresh rescued produce to thousands of families. We are only able to do this work through partnering with amazing host sites each weekend throughout the season. Check out the amazing faces of so many we have helped. Find the closest produce site to you, or better yet contact us to help host your own site!
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How you can make a difference

As Borderlands, we are only able to do the work we do because of the contributions of our thousands of supporters. Each week, through participating in our produce distribution programs, our supporters donations help pay for all of the costs of our warehousing, transporting and storing fresh rescued produce. Just in 2015 alone, Borderlands’ trucks drove more than 218,000 miles delivering over 30 million lbs of fresh produce. Your donation today, and your support of our work, will allow us to rescue millions more.
For every $1 we receive from donors, we are able rescue and distribute 35 pounds of fresh and nutritious produce. According to USDA recommendations of 7-9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, each dollar donated helps supplement 10 healthy meals!

 

The Next Million Pounds is on You

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Recent Updates

Testimonials

Kristi Lobianco

This had changed the way my family eats and is amazing! Fresh produce in stores can be so expensive therefore harder to buy but this has made healthy eating more plausible and possible for my family of 4!

Victoria Erivez

This is amazing! I live in Casa Grande and every weekend for a month I’ve been driving to one of the Phoenix locations. Produce is fresh and amazing. I will no longer give my money to Frys or Walmart for produce. You save tons of money every week and we look forward to our Saturday outings. We have fresh veggies every night! Thank you all for doing this wonderful thing!

Helen Smith

We are once again enjoying the wonderful bounty of fresh and locally grown veggies and fruits once again. The volunteers and staff are warm, friendly and helpful! Especially at the Santa Rita High School site and the church locate at 6700 East Broadway. Thank you Borderlands for taking back this program and making it a great experience once again!

The Gospel Rescue Mission

Having been homeless, it has been an honor to work with P.O.W.W.O.W. delivering over tens of thousands of pounds to The Gospel Rescue Mission Men’s, Women’s and Children center. Many homeless shelters don’t have an opportunity to receive healthy nutritious produce, so they often times turn to canned, and processed foods in order to survive. With a life expectancy of 45-49 years [1], programs like these have been crucial at edging away the disparities seen in Arizona and beyond. Thank you for your continued support! 
Albert Alan
The Gospel Rescue Mission

Connie Williams

One day a week, residents of the Tubac, Carmen, and Tumacácori villages along the Santa Cruz River flock to a roadside produce stand where volunteers working for the Borderlands Food Bank distribute fruits and vegetables in return for donations that support produce rescue.  This has become a social event that mixes people of different socio-economic, cultural, and age groups in a win-win activity.  Recipes are shared, unfamiliar vegetables are sampled, and plans to cook for house-bound neighbors are discussed.  These communities are distant from the nearest Safeway and in a county with high rates of diabetes, so the opportunity to add delicious fruits and vegetables to family meals is enthusiastically embraced.  We are all grateful to Borderlands Food Bank for their on-going work making this food and this sense of community available in our area.

Connie Williams

Frequently Asked Questions

WHO IS BORDERLANDS PRODUCE RESCUE?

501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit donations to Borderlands are tax-deductible and is an approved Arizona Charitable Tax Credit organization (Diabetes Prevention and Aid Fun dba Borderlands Food Bank).

Founded in 1996, Borderlands has rescued 599,000,000 pounds of produce and distributed more than 547,820,00 million pounds of fresh produce to families. Our vision is to keep as much produce out of the landfills as humanly possible, helping our environment and distributing this produce to those in need, helping our community.

DO YOU NEED TO QUALIFY TO RECEIVE SERVICES?

No! Clients of Borderlands do not have to income or residential qualify to use its services, that means everyone is welcome!

  •                Borderlands works without any government monies or commodities.
  •                Borderlands principally rescues fresh produce.
  •                Borderlands is an International organization.
  •                Borderlands can follow the donated produce from donor to end recipient.
WHERE DOES THE RESCUED PRODUCE COME FROM?

The greater majority from Mexico via the U.S. and Canada for sale, arriving thru the Nogales Port of Entry.  Some is also rescued in Yuma, AZ and some from local hydroponic plants.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY RESCUED?

The produce crosses from Mexico to the U.S. and is unloaded at local distribution warehouses for its sale.  For a variety of reasons not all of the produce is sold.  Borderlands has been educating the produce industry to not “dump” the unsold produce at the local landfill but instead to donate to Borderlands for its re-distribution to families; therefore we rescue it directly from the produce distribution warehouses.

HOW IS THE RESCUED PRODUCE RE-DISTRIBUTED?

Borderlands has four programs thru which it re-distributes the rescued produce.

  1.                Veggies R Us:  Direct Client/Agency distribution out of Borderlands warehouse facility.
  2.                Produce on Wheels With-Out Waste (P.O.W.W.O.W.) Hosted Pop-Up Produce Markets across Arizona
  3.                Produce Travels:  24 other U.S. States receive produce from Borderlands.
  4.                Animals Love Veggies: When Veggies perish we feed animals nutritiously.

Every $10 donated helps us rescue 850 lbs of fresh produce!