Our Impact In Marin
Since we launched our free service 6 years ago, ExtraFood.org has made a significant impact in Marin County, from Point Reyes Station to McNear's Beach to Novato to Marin City, and everywhere in between:
- We have organized, recovered, and delivered more than 3,670,444 pounds of food from 250+ donors to 124 safety net partner sites serving thousands of Marin's most vulnerable children, adults, and families. We've made more than 44,000 deliveries of healthy, fresh food.
- The food includes enormous quantities of such in-demand items as fresh fruits and vegetables; proteins in prepared food, dairy products, eggs, and meat; and much more.
- We have started 34 new food programs with our partners, expanding the safety net in our county.
- We reach more than 8,000 vulnerable people each month with our food deliveries.
- Because of our deliveries, our recipient partners serve more than 1,500 people that they otherwise would not be able to serve.
We are helping solve the problem of hunger in Marin by helping Marin's nonprofit food programs be more effective in our shared work to get more healthy food to more people who are struggling with hunger. We are addressing inequities and need by redistributing some of the highest-quality food in the world.
And, we are acting on the environmental aspect of our mission by reducing the massive impact of food waste on climate change:
- If global food waste were a country, it would rank 3rd in greenhouse gas emissions after the U.S. and China.
- By keeping excess food out of the landfill, ExtraFood's work has prevented more than 301,471 pounds of methane from entering the atmosphere and warming our planet.
In sum, ExtraFood is solving hunger differently:
- Leading a movement to change our food system: Changing businesses’ and schools behavior from wasting food to donating it;
- Sharing the resources of our community with our community: High-quality fresh food and 700+ volunteers thus far; and
- Mobilizing a county-wide coalition to expand a nimble, renewable, long-term food recovery ecosystem for our county.
Because if they have the food they need, children can learn, seniors can age in place with dignity, and adults can find jobs to lift themselves out of poverty.
We do all of this with a highly efficient organization: in 2019, 95% of our expenditures were devoted to program delivery. Every $1 invested in ExtraFood enables us to share $4 worth of Marin's high-quality food with people in need.
Click here to see stories about our impact in Marin.
Click here to see us in action.
Here's what some of our partners are saying about our impact:
“Thank you so much. This is so critically helpful! Your impressively organized and mission-driven system is key to the wellbeing of all people in the community who struggle with food security.”
— Mary Kay Sweeney, Executive Director, Homeward Bound of Marin
“Beyond the wonderful food that you provide, my children are encouraged by the fact that somewhere out in the world there are people who want to ensure they have fresh, healthy food. This feeling of being cared for is so powerful and I thank you so much for all that you do.”
— Sally Matsuishi, Next Generation Scholars
“It’s a great complement to a food bank in any location to have a group [ExtraFood.org] that picks up things that aren’t cost-effective for us to pick up. When somebody calls us and says they have some oranges, we ask where to send the tractor-trailer.” [Marin Independent-Journal, 7/3/14]
— Paul Ash, Executive Director, SF-Marin Food Bank
“[Because of ExtraFood's deliveries] I’m finding myself eating a more nutritious diet and a diet that has more variety to it, anything from salads to complete dinner meals that appear to be custom made....What I found is as people get older, they tend not to prepare healthy foods for themselves because it is an extra effort. Some of the more complex meals we receive from ExtraFood…instead of just eating a sandwich, people are receiving full meals that are very tasty and made from scratch. All the individuals who I know who receive ExtraFood look forward to it because it tastes so good and has nutrition. It’s high-end food which makes people feel they are receiving something of quality.”
— Michael Harris, Novato
“Donating food helps breathe life into the community, and ExtraFood makes it easy for us. I don’t have to deal with the guilt of throwing things away that people really need.”
— Eddie Reduta, Dairy Manager, Nugget Markets - Corte Madera
“Putting focus on diverting waste saves us money through cutting back on having waste hauled away."
—Kanoa Aipia, Store Director, Nugget Markets - Corte Madera
“ExtraFood is a key partner in our business. They help streamline our operations by making the donating process easy.”
—Megan Mokri, Co-Founder, Byte Foods - San Rafael
“Community is important to me as a person and as a business. I donate because I know people don’t have enough money to eat well.”
—Lito Saldana, Owner, Los Moles - San Rafael
“My team and I are thrilled at the opportunity to help our community. If it were not for the team at ExtraFood.org, I'm not sure how we would be able to donate food in this volume and manner. This is a great partnership among businesses, volunteers, and organizations to help feed the vulnerable residents of Marin County and reduce the amount of wasted food items that end up in landfills.”
—Mike Montross, Director of Nutrition Services, Marin General Hospital
“When I started working for Novato Unified School District in 2002 there was no locally-grown produce being offered to the students in our schools. That's an injustice. Today, we offer plenty of locally-grown produce to our kids, but not all the food is used. We had been throwing away perfectly good, healthful food at the end of the day – produce and prepared food – instead of providing it to families in the community who could benefit from it. That's an injustice. Thanks to our local farmers and ExtraFood.org, both of these injustices have been resolved in our efforts to improve the culture of wellness in our schools and community.”
— Miguel Villarreal, former Director of Food and Nutritional Services, Novato USD
“ExtraFood.org has helped us achieve our mission of feeding people instead of waste bins in Marin County. Their support makes it easy to save our excess, wholesome food from going to waste and we couldn't be more grateful for their partnership.”
— Claire Cummings, Waste Programs Manager, Bon Appétit Management Company
“The farmers at the Marin Civic Center farmers market are so grateful to ExtraFood.org for giving them a simple way to get their healthful, excess produce to those in need.”
— Brigitte Moran, CEO/Executive Director, Agricultural Institute of Marin
“We are proud to support the important work that ExtraFood.org does for our Marin community. They make it so easy for us to donate our extra food to those in need. ExtraFood is a heroic partner allowing our community to put our values into action. No person should go hungry.”
— Moji Javid, Director of Synagogue Engagement, Congregation Rodef Sholom
“Kids come [to the church's pantry supplied by ExtraFood] when their parents aren’t home and they don’t have food in the house. People with babies who live on food stamps come for milk. Seniors who need food at the end of the month when their government benefit checks run out come for a bag of groceries.”
—Leticia Jones, People's Inter-Cities Fellowship - Marin City
“Thank you ExtraFood.org volunteers. The food you are bringing us feeds seniors and young families in West Marin from Muir Beach, into the San Geronimo Valley and up to the Sonoma County line. West Marin is an affordable food desert surrounded by farms producing the best of Marin's food and the most needy are often forgotten. Thank you for including these seniors and families in the bounty Marin's food culture offers.”
— Chloe Cook, San Geronimo Community Presbyterian Church and County of Marin Aging and Adult Services
“People are coming in a state of hunger and unable to feed their families each week, and at the same time they’re working on their financial goals and resumes. Having supplemental food in their homes makes a huge difference and empowers them to make progress in their lives.”
— Axel Flores, Financial Coach, SparkPoint Marin - San Rafael
“Being a senior and self-employed with a fluctuating income, the food donations really help out.”
— Gena Galenski, Resident, Rotary Manor - San Rafael
“Your help is truly appreciated. We are grateful for your terrific work and loyal support!”
— Christine Paquette, Executive Director, St. Vincent de Paul Society
“The quality of life has improved within our community by the food your team and your donors provide!”
— Alison Buck, Program Director, Voyager Carmel Center
“On behalf of my Warner Creek seniors, we are so grateful for the delicious food ExtraFood donates to us. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity over the years. I feel that my seniors are so blessed and their lives richer because of your attitude of service and compassion. ”
— Monina Hamilton, Service Coordinator, Warner Creek Senior Housing
“We are really appreciative of the great food ExtraFood.org has provided. The fresh fruits and vegetables have really added to our menu. I feel like we should be giving you all an award! Great work!”
— Mark Messerer, former Program Manager, Center Point
