Food Shift

About us

Food Shift is a nonprofit social enterprise developing collaborative models that reduce wasted food, feed communities, and provide jobs. We are shifting the problem of wasted food into a solution by developing sustainable solutions that address systemic issues behind food waste and hunger. Through collaborative programs, online resources, speaking engagements and recovery services, we provide guidance and promote food waste reduction as a strategy to benefit the community, save money, and alleviate strain on the environment.

Mission Statement
Food Shift is developing collaborative models to reduce wasted food, feed communities, and provide jobs.

Vision
We believe thousands of people can be employed in the recovery, redistribution and processing of excess food. By reducing food waste, we can feed the hungry, create jobs, combat climate change and cultivate more sustainable communities.

What We Do
Food Shift works collaboratively with communities, businesses and governments to develop sustainable solutions that reduce wasted food and hunger.
Community: Food Shift works in the San Francisco Bay Area to design and implement community-level programs in partnership with local organizations. We use our broad local and national network and platform to educate, inspire, and connect individuals to our work and the broader movement.
• Food Shift Kitchen: Using fresh fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be discarded from farms and distributors due to imperfections, the Food Shift Kitchen creates nutritious food products that can be sold to local food businesses and provided at low cost to food insecure communities.
• Community Engagement: We educate and engage individuals through resources on our website like the "Reduce Your Waste" page, through our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter, and through community events and public speaking.
Business: Food Shift works with businesses, organizations, and institutions to recover food and develop customized programs that reduce food waste and cut costs.
• Event Food Recovery: People at Bay Area conferences eat well, and often the uneaten, high quality food from these events goes to waste. So far, Food Shift has partnered with BALLE, Airbnb, Bioneers, and Centro Community Partners to collect and redistribute food from their events.
• Business Consulting: Food Shift has extensive experience, background knowledge, and an understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and players within the complex ecosystem around food production, food waste, and food access. We aim to educate and empower entities to build sustainable practices into their DNA and customize services based on what clients need.
Government: Food Shift works with municipalities and counties to research and recommend effective government interventions to improve food recovery and distribution. We envision the creation of a food recovery service sector as an extension of our current waste management system and as a way to create quality jobs. This is a realistic vision that will require a radical shift in thinking about food recovery as a service rather than a charity and will require government support.
• Santa Clara County Research Report: We published a final report, including existing food recovery programs, community-identified barriers, and suggested steps of action for the government to take.
• All In to End Hunger Campaign 2020: Food Shift is an active participant in Alameda County’s All In To End Hunger 2020 Campaign, a bold but realistic campaign to end hunger in Alameda County by 2020. We are working with 30+ community partners on an integrated approach involving policy reform, economic development, and deep food systems change.

Dana Frasz is the Founder and Director of Food Shift.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.