Friendship Donations Network (FDN) is an innovative and transformative program that models and teaches how to save nutritious food that will soon be wasted, and instead, redirects it to sustenance for people in need and keeps it from heading to the landfill. FDN’s donations of fresh, nutritious food includes exotic produce as well a wide assortment of produce as well as organic products. This provides options to people who otherwise could not afford such a varied and healthy diet. Many of FDN’s programs teach consumers how easy it is to cook foods, such as various squashes, that they may have previously not been exposed to. FDN strives to provide food that is a healthy alternative to cheap, processed food that is high in salt, sugar, fat and artificial ingredients that so many struggling people find themselves buying. While FDN is a food rescue and redistribution program that collects up to 600,000 lbs of mostly perishable food every year, it is also important to note that it is all about transforming how Americans communities deal with excess and day(s)-old food that is usable and nutritious.
Twenty-four programs including pantries, community hot meals, children’s programs, outreach to low wage work sites, families who live in trailer parks, low income homes and senior citizens are served. Participating programs and their 235 volunteers pick up and distribute donations of mostly perishable excess and day(s)-old food from Ithaca’s food outlets. Donors include supermarkets, whole sale food suppliers, Cornell University – Orchards, Dairy Store, Catering, farms and other sites, bakeries, area farms and CSA co-ops.
Mission
To alleviate hunger and food insecurity through recovery and redistribution of nutritious food; to bridge the gap between excess food waste and hunger; to transform the wasteful nature of our society; to provide an innovative teaching and publicity model of how to transform how communities act with regard to good food that will be wasted; to act as a one-call center for donors 7 days a week; to model a sustainable, home grown, grassroots low budget agency with a focus on teaching, publicizing and informing how to reduce hunger by reducing, reusing and recycling good, nutritious food that is slated to be wasted.
History
FDN started in 1988 to aid destitute migrant farm workers in 112 migrant labor camps (Sodus, NY) with basic necessities. In 1992, the program expanded to include Ithaca and surrounding communities. Twenty four hunger programs pick up donations of mostly fresh perishable food donated by area donors, including deliveries of free food to low-wage work sites and rural poor. FDN provides a teaching model for innovative and transformative practices to save nutritious food from being dumped and instead, divert it to those in need.
Service to the Community
Up to 2,100 persons are served weekly through 24 hunger programs. Each pantry receives about 1,000-1,500 pounds of mostly fresh, perishable food donations daily – fruits, vegetables, assorted breads and pastries, assorted groceries, variety of dairy and deli items, eggs, pizzas and more!
Donations
- In-Kind Donations: up to $1.5 million annually
- Food Donations: 1,000 to 1,500 lbs per day; 10,000 to 12,000 lbs per week; (more on holidays); up to 600,000 lbs per year
- Value of Food Donations: $2,000 to $4,000 per day; $1.2 to $1.5 million per year with increases on holidays and harvest time.
- Number of Consumers Served: up to 2,100 per week. Pantries are held weekly; bi-weekly; or monthly. There is a pantry daily in Ithaca or nearby communities every day of the week including weekends. Daily and weekends – 7 days per week – community meals are served in Ithaca.
- Food Donors: see Donors Page
Hunger Programs Served by FDN Donations
See Programs Served for complete list of programs served
Organization
- Nonprofit Organization: As of September 7, 2010, Friendship Donations Inc is an officially incorporated nonprofit organization
- Staff and Volunteers: 24 hunger programs and their 235 volunteers pick up food from donors and deliver it to their respective programs; they set up the pantry and distribute the food to those in need.
- Program Coordinator: Meaghan Sheehan Rosen is the FDN Program Coordinator.
- Board of Directors: The FDN Board of directors consists of the following ten people: Judy Dietz (president), Art Pearce (vice-president/treasurer), Linda Finlay (secretary), Michael Charnoky, Jim Eyster, Martin Fellows Hatch, Laurie Kimball, Jane Mt. Pleasant, Lenny Nissenson, Sara Pines and David Stotz.
- Tax Exemption: FDN is a 501(c)3 program, EIN: 32-0318047. All donations are tax-deductible.
- FDN is a non-denominational organization and does not promote any message, including religion.
Budget
The 2012 FDN budget is available in PDF form for download:
FDN Inc 2012 Budget
What Sets FDN Apart
FDN’s mission to not only to serve, but to provide an innovative and transformative teaching model. The goal is to encourage other communities to take action to reuse the billions of pounds of good food that get dumped every year and donate it to those in need.
FDN differs from food banks in its approach to obtaining food. Food banks must charge member programs for overhead per pound or package of food. FDN has never paid for food. Instead, FDN rescues mostly nutritious fresh perishable food from local food outlets, and on holidays, from colleges and universities (mostly when they close for vacations). The food is picked up by volunteers daily who deliver it directly to their pantry or program. FDN responds quickly once food becomes available. Food is distributed within one or more hours on the day it is picked up. If FDN did not exist, donations would most likely be discarded, contributing to environmental degradation and increased hunger.
FDN strives to teach healthy eating and cooking methods at its pantries and programs. The need for fresh produce, unprocessed food and whole grains is critical to diminish the many health issues that people in need face.
FDN encourages all its programs to become members of the food bank so that they may offer a wider assortment of food as well as a more reliable source of food at each of the pantries. The two programs are not redundant: seven of FDN’s 24 pantries/programs are members of both Networks. Thus, they are able to offer a greater variety and quantity of perishable and non-perishable food at each pantry and program.
Last updated: May 2, 2012
