“Our participants are constantly asking who makes our food. Knowing that the amazing food we’re eating is helping people improve their lives and get back on their feet—that’s an honor!”

“Food Shift is at the very forefront of exploring the links between food, community, economic empowerment, inclusion and health.”

“Food Shift gives our residents an invaluable kitchen experience that serves as a stepping stone to employment in the food service industry. Along the way, our residents feel challenged to expand their skills, and valued for their contribution.”

“Food Shift provides us with high quality, fresh produce that is hard to get otherwise.”

“There’s a visible change in clients from dull hair and skin when first starting the program, to more of a healthier radiant appearance since clients are eating less fast food and more whole foods.” 

“At Airbnb’s global gathering, with nine catered meals for 800 people over four days, food excess was inevitable, but instead of treating all the delicious food as waste, we hired Food Shift to repurpose that food into 1500 meals for communities in need. Food Shift’s working style was very collaborative, tailoring their services specifically to our event. They worked seamlessly with caterers and food trucks to package extra food and distribute it to appropriate agencies in San Francisco. The most exciting part was, due to their real-time documentation, we were able to adjust food portions to better suit the attendees and decrease food excess throughout the event. Food Shift brings a level of consciousness and logistical support that can suit any event, large or small, and divert potential food waste to those agencies feeding hungry communities.”

“Food Shift put my mind at ease in more ways than one. They provided logistical support, communications and invaluable insights into alternate ways of looking at food at the end of its lifecycle. They worked with the caterers to each day to ensure surplus food amounts from the day before were discussed to better prepare for amounts day-of. I am so ecstatic to continue to partner with Food Shift in any number of ways as together we explore the good food fight.”

“It is simply unacceptable in a society so prosperous as ours to miss the mark so widely in connecting food resources with glaring unmet needs. Food Shift is part of a growing effort to go farther and create something better. They are finding creative and effective ways to construct food systems that deliver health and sustainability to our communities. We are proud to support that work and we also know that we will share in the benefits. Keep up the great work!”

“It was a pleasure working with Food Shift. We didn’t have to worry about wasting food and it felt good to know Food Shift would be bringing this delicious food to those in need.”

“I greatly enjoyed working with the Food Shift team during our recent event. They made the donation process so easy by providing all the needed containers and then managed the entire process of collecting the food. We look forward to utilizing their services int the future.”

“I never liked the idea of wasting food. But it wasn’t until I started following my college friend Dana’s work with Food Shift that I actually took steps to reduce my kitchen garbage! I’m always cooking for my family and friends. Sometimes, the meal plans would change or I would overbuy and there would be produce sitting and rotting in my fridge. I used to see the moldy food and think, “Well, I have no choice but to throw it out!” Now, I realize that the choice begins at the store. I shop much more carefully now – and have learned to transform excess ingredients into more meals. I use my freezer more. My disposal guzzles less precious fruit and veggies. I save money. Food Shift continues to inspire me to take responsibility for my decisions – whether it is the kind of companies I buy from, the kinds of non profits I support, and last (but certainly not least!) what’s in my fridge.”

“Dana and the dedicated Food Shift crew is making a difference and shifting their community’s culture and practices around the avoidable problem of food waste. What they are doing in the Bay Area needs to spread all over America!”

“Food Shift addresses the critically important issue of food waste and its impact on two very serious problems: hunger and climate change, while raising awareness that we can all play a role in mitigating those problems in our everyday lives. I am very grateful to Food Shift for helping Bioneers walk our talk in regards to food sustainability by capturing and distributing extra food from the Bioneers conference and distributing it to those in need.”

“Regarding the Zero Food Waste Forum ‘14: ‘Your efforts and the entire forum itself made a truly lasting impression. The BEST work-related/professional gathering that I’ve ever been to.'”

“I joined Food Shift because of the mission, and I stayed because of the people. While working with Food Shift, there was never a dull moment. I was consistently empowered by the tasks I took on, and inspired by my colleagues’ brilliant ideas for shifting food systems in a less wasteful direction. Every time I had a chance to tout the mission and ideals of Food Shift to event participants or to my friends, I felt so proud to be part of an organization that is paving the way for a true food shift. Volunteering with Food Shift was an empowering experience that gave me practical career skills, an enhanced awareness about the issue, and personal connections to the food justice network in Oakland.”

“It was a pleasure to work with Food Shift to help us recover unused food at our Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour in Oakland. Food Shift staff were courteous, professional and prompt. All we had to do was answer their questions about our event and they did the rest – making sure any food we didn’t sell to our 250 attendees was sent to Oakland Youth Aspire, another local non-profit, and not wasted. We saved time and money not having to figure out the logistics ourselves and felt good knowing we had not wasted any food! Thank you Food Shift!”

(discussing how the food we donated impacted the receiving orgs) 

“It allowed the organizations we delivered to feed more people as well as allowing them to stretch their tight budgets a little farther that month, therefore freeing up funds for either additional food or other needs of the organization. Some of the food went to a high school after school program at a school where the majority of students come from low income families. The after school teacher reports that when they serve good hearty food, attendance improves in addition to which the kids get more homework done because they are able to focus better when they are not worrying about where dinner will come from.”

“Food Shift provided a wide variety of fresh produce for our youth to learn about, take home, enjoy and share with their families. Since West Oakland is a food desert, there is a lack of available healthy foods to nourish our youth. Food Shift provided a service to Oakland Youth Aspire and to the West Oakland community that helped to empower our youth to be healthier leaders.”

“Food Shift’s team is beyond passionate about the problem of food waste and has shown a scrappy ability to affect real change. By convincing companies like Andronico’s to adopt food recovery programs, they’re proving that food recovery is a sustainable and expandable solution in the business’s best interest.”

“Working with Food Shift has been an invaluable springboard to a career in grant writing for nonprofits. More than any certification course, this taught me the day to day requirements and processes used to do grant writing from initial research to letters of thanks. The experience was instrumental in securing the contract I now hold as a grant writer. The team at Food Shift has managed to be present and work very collaboratively with me in spite of the fact that I live on the opposite coast. They are deeply passionate about the interconnected issues of food waste and hunger, and I would absolutely recommend volunteering with this incredible organization!”

“Working at Food Shift was such a valuable experience for me in so many different ways! Everything that Dana has accomplished in such a short amount of time is so inspiring, and working with a small, but mighty and dedicated team was incredible. Dana has a great depth of knowledge about our food system, and the passion that she brings to her work is unparalleled. Food Shift’s efforts to end food waste are changing communities, businesses, the environment, our entire food system, and of course they’ve changed my own personal behaviors as well! For me, working with Food Shift has meant great conversations, learning valuable office and communication skills, and new friendships. I am excited to see where they go next!”

“Thank you for all your good work! Just by working with you all I have been advocating ordering less at restaurants and making sure we only buy what we need at home. This is really great! We’ll do this!”