Whole Foods Market celebrated the donation of its 100th Nourishing Our Neighborhoods refrigerated van to the San Antonio Food Bank with a Stuff the Van event, where store employees loaded the vehicle to the brim with fresh produce and pantry staples before sending it off to its new home.
The San Antonio Food Bank serves 29 counties across southwest Texas, feeding over 140,000 people each week. The organization currently rescues food from Whole Foods Market’s Vineyard and Quarry locations weekly and redistributes it to community members experiencing food insecurity. The new refrigerated van will help it continue this important work and safely transport fresh, high-quality food across southwest Texas.
“So much of the work of the San Antonio Food Bank is logistics. It’s getting food from those who have it to those who need it. And having that vehicle, that refrigerated van that transports food in a food-safe way from those donors to get to neighbors that are struggling with food insecurity, it’s everything,” Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank, says of the partnership. “It helps us operate efficiently and food safe. And it wouldn’t have happened without Whole Foods and their partnership to make sure no one goes hungry throughout the United States.”
Nourishing Our Neighborhoods
Launched in 2020, the Nourishing Our Neighborhoods van donation program supports food access efforts in local communities by helping food recovery nonprofits across the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada move food from where it’s available to where it’s needed. Through the program, Whole Foods Market funds the purchase of all-electric, refrigerated vans and recharging stations for food rescue organizations so that they can safely transport fresh, high-quality food to their communities — a critical but often burdensome aspect of the food rescue and distribution process.
Amazon’s Broader Support of the San Antonio Food Bank
The van donation builds on the San Antonio Food Bank’s long-standing relationships with both Whole Foods Market and Amazon. Amazon’s home delivery program leverages its logistics network to transport meals directly from the food bank to families’ doorsteps at no cost to the recipients or the food bank. The program reaches people who face barriers to visiting traditional food bank sites, including seniors, individuals with limited mobility or disabilities and families without reliable transportation.
In addition to the van donation, Whole Foods Market’s Vineyard and Quarry stores volunteer with the food bank throughout the year, provide in-kind donations upon request and have awarded monetary grants through the Store Giving program.
