Reducing Waste. Nourishing Neighbors. Creating Jobs.

What We Do

Our Approach

Why We Do What We Do

Despite the abundance of food and wealth in the Bay Area, 1 in 4 people in San Francisco are food insecure, many of them seniors and children. The dichotomy of hunger in modern cities juxtaposed with a world of surplus food and 35% of all food in the US being wasted requires innovative thinking to move beyond the traditional models of food recovery and charity.

As a top environmental polluter, food waste ranks among the top 3 solutions in addressing climate change. Surprised? The 35% of food waste also ties up about 20% of water, fertilizers, pesticides, and landfill space, not to mention labor and fuel.

From farms to our own kitchens, food waste happens throughout the supply chain. At the household level, food waste has a price tag of $1600 per year for a household of 4, affecting our financial well-being as well as the environment.

It is easier to simply focus on food assistance or food recovery, but recognizing that the root cause of hunger is not the lack of food in this country, but rather, the lack of financial security, our social enterprise kitchen to create jobs is at the core of our programs.

Food Shift discovers, demonstrates and shares creative and sustainable community approaches to achieve both food and climate justice.

How We Show Up

Food Shift is… For the people… By the people… With the people

Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) is at the foundation of our values:

“For the people” —Our actions must first and foremost benefit the people we serve, not require them to lean into a broken system. The system needs to be fixed, not the people, because we are not broken.

“By the people” —The team and the people we serve, our collective “we,” see ourselves as an active part of the solution, rather than a charity case to be saved.

“With the people” —We choose to walk this journey together, in partnership with others with shared values and goals, amplifying their voices, and seeking solutions on behalf of the larger community.

When We Act

Let’s shift the way people think about food and use food to uplift our community, including our planet. We are broadening our impact, starting with our team of staff, apprentices and volunteers, to recover and redistribute food, transform overlooked food into upcycled nourishing products, and amplify the voices of people in our community to share our stories with the rest of the world.