Food

If you are an individual or a business, the first and best option is to donate edible food to feed people who may otherwise go hungry. However, if the food is inedible (e.g., moldy or rancid), it may be better to compost it instead.

Do you have more produce than you can eat, for example, an over-abundant fruit tree? Invite a team of volunteers to glean on your property - not only will you be preventing food from going to waste, that food can also feed people who might be food-insecure! Gleaning means to harvest leftover or unwanted food from a tree, field, or farm. Please see below for locations and organizations that would be willing to accept food donations or send out a gleaning team.

Please note that state law SB 1383 will require businesses and other commercial entities to donate edible food to feed hungry people starting in 2022.

Free food pick ups and software available

Businesses, schools, and other organizations with excess or surplus food are encouraged to donate food and feed people who may be food insecure. Zero Waste Sonoma (ZWS) and Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) are pleased to offer free food pick-up services through grants with CalRecycle and CalVolunteers. Please contact Xinci Tan <xinci.tan@sonoma-county.org> and Kyle LaRue <klarue@ccnorthbay.org> for more info and to sign up.

In addition, ZWS has purchased a license with Careit for a food donation software, which helps connect food donors with food recipient/distribution organizations. The software makes it easy for restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and other food donors to post surplus food, and nearby non-profit organizations are notified of the food available for pick up. Sign up to donate or receive food at https://careitapp.com/

As Zero Waste Sonoma's grant partner, Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) offers free food pick-up services. This program is funded by a Grant from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) through California Climate Investments, statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The Cap-and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. California Climate Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, more sustainable agriculture, recycling, and much more. At least 35 percent of these investments are located within and benefiting residents of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households across California. For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website (http://www.caclimateinvestment.ca.gov)

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Locations

Location pin Conservation Corps North Bay

365 Blodgett St
Cotati, CA 94931

NotesPickup: food (all kinds). Please call first

Location pin Farm to Pantry

NotesPickup: whole produce and non-prepared foods only. Coordinates gleaning at farms, home gardens, and backyard trees in northern Sonoma County.

Location pin Food for Thought

6550 Railroad Ave
Forestville, CA 95436

NotesDrop-off: whole/cut produce, meat, dairy, deli foods, bread, and commercially prepared foods still in their original packaging & other commercially prepared foods. No expired foods.

Location pin Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH)

18330 Sonoma Hwy
Sonoma, CA 95476

NotesDrop-off: canned goods, dried goods and produce; call first.

Location pin Petaluma Bounty

NotesPickup: coordinates gleaning services in southern Sonoma County.

Location pin Redwood Empire Food Bank

3990 Brickway Blvd.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

NotesDrop-off: canned goods, dried goods and produce. See website for instructions.

Location pin Redwood Gospel Mission Food Recovery

101 6th St
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

NotesDrop-off: canned goods, dried goods and produce; call first.

Location pin Sonoma County Food Recovery Coalition (SCFRC)

NotesDatabase of local food recovery and distribution resources. The Food Distribution Directory connects people with opportunities to donate perishable food to people in need.

Location pin Sonoma County Gleaners

Healdsburg, CA

NotesPromoting a Zero Waste Sonoma County, Sonoma County Gleaners harvest surplus produce and donate it to our neighbors in need.

Contact Sonoma County Gleaners for more information

Location pin SONOMA Food Runners

NotesPickup: food (all kinds) from events, farms, food producers, grocers, caterers, farmers' markets and restaurants to feed local hungry people. Tax receipts issued upon request.

Location pin St. Vincent de Paul of Sonoma County Food Donation

610 Wilson St (entrance on 7th)
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

NotesDrop-off: fresh food, dried and canned goods; call first.