Through our Produce initiative, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank hopes to fill critical dietary needs by bringing in regular loads of fruits and vegetables from around the country for use by our partner agencies. We strive to increase the amount of free, nutritious fresh produce being distributed to hungry people across our region. The Foodbank has set a goal of distributing more than eight million pounds of fresh produce to our eight-county service territory this year at no cost to our member agencies.
To accomplish this ambitious goal, the Foodbank is taking a number of steps to obtain and promote fresh produce. First, the Foodbank is seeking to increase the amount of produce available from existing sources, such as the USDA and Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program (OACP). These two sources are available to all emergency feeding programs.
In addition, the Foodbank purchases fresh produce that is available for all partner agencies. All fresh produce is distributed at no cost. The Foodbank also allows “day-of” produce add-ons to orders at the Agency Dock. When picking up an order, there is a list of currently available produce that can be added on to a current order. This list will vary from day to day and agency eligibility will be based on the produce source. The produce add-on can be ordered at the Order Desk.
