Food Forward
Model & Strategy
Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same. Produce recovered by Food Forward is delivered to hundreds of hunger relief organizations that distribute this fresh produce free of charge to people across 13 southern California counties. Food Forward has recovered and distributed over 400 million pounds (2.2 billion servings) of fresh produce, preventing 356,000 metric tons of GHG emissions.
The Problem
A September 2023 USC Dornsife study reported that 30% of Los Angeles households experienced food insecurity, a 6% increase over 2022 due to rising food prices, inflation, and the expiration of COVID-era expansions to nutritional benefit programs. Statewide, one in five California households face food insecurity. Simultaneously, the EPA reports that over one-third of the food produced in the U.S. goes unsold or uneaten, decomposing in landfills and generating methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. This disparity is both alarming and addressable through food recovery and waste prevention initiatives.
The Solution
Food Forward’s transformative food rescue programs positively impact multiple sectors of the regional food system. They assist farmers and food wholesalers managing surplus, support hunger relief organizations struggling to feed their clients, and help reduce environmental pollution caused by food waste. Unlike a traditional food bank, Food Forward focuses solely on recovering fresh fruits and vegetables, distributing them to hundreds of partner organizations. By combining their logistics expertise with the community trust and knowledge of their partners, Food Forward maximizes the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables they deliver to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Every day, Food Forward distributes enough fruits and vegetables to meet the daily recommended servings for over 270,000 people.
Food Forward’s 2023-2025 Strategic Plan outlines a path to recovering and distributing 270 million pounds of fresh produce by 2025, nearly matching their total recovery over the first 15 years. This ambitious goal underscores their commitment to meeting the ongoing need for fresh food. Through this substantial intervention in the food system, Food Forward aims to significantly impact food insecurity and food waste, resulting in nourished communities and a healthier environment.
Before founding Food Forward in 2009, Rick Nahmias was an award-winning photographer and writer who focused on the faces and stories of marginalized communities. His formal training as a cook, along with his exploration of California’s agricultural workforce in his body of work entitled “The Migrant Project: Contemporary California Farm Workers” gave him a deep appreciation of and involvement in both the gourmet cooking and the food justice worlds. These varied interests, along with his conviction that access to healthy fresh nutritious food is a human right, culminated in him coming aboard as full-time Executive Director of Food Forward in 2011.
He’s spoken internationally on food justice issues, and his work has been profiled in dozens of publications including The Guardian, Sunset Magazine, and The Los Angeles Times. Rick has been named a regional delegate to the Slow Food/Terra Madre Conference in Torino, a Ralph M. Parsons Fellow, a Food Champion by LA City Council, and was a solo presenter at the 2014 SXSW Eco Conference. A 2010 winner of the LA Social Venture Fast Pitch, in 2015 Nahmias was chosen from over 135 past participants to represent Los Angeles in the inaugural National Fast Pitch competition in Austin, TX and was awarded the Innovation and Audience awards. In 2016 he received an inaugural Trailblazer Award by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Rick serves on the Leadership Board of the LA Food Policy Council, and the Steering Committee for the Los Angeles County Food Recovery Initiative.
IMPACT
Food Forward has distributed more than 400 million pounds of fresh produce that would have otherwise gone to waste, preventing emissions of more than 356,000 metric tons of GHGs.
In 2023, with expenses of just $6.3 million, Food Forward returned a value of over $168 million in social impact for the value of fresh produce donated.
