Oppy and Food Forward combine zero waste efforts

Oppy established a new dedicated collaboration with Food Forward, one of the nation’s largest independent urban produce reclamation and upcycling organizations. Food Forward successfully upcycles healthy fresh produce to food insecure communities, mitigating food waste through their partnerships with produce donors across the country as Southern California’s largest independent produce reclamation and urban gleaning organization.

In 2022 alone, Food Forward saw a 24 percent increase in produce donations (from 2021) through its dedicated partnerships with growers and the wholesale produce industry. By reallocating more than 300 million pounds of produce since its founding in 2009, Food Forward continues to share the benefits of its sustainable operations with progressive partners like Oppy.

“Now in our 14th year, we have served as a leader in the food recovery sphere, establishing a sustainable operation both in scale and reach that has expanded to impact 12 Southern California counties, six neighboring states and tribal lands,” says Rick Nahmias, founder and CEO of Food Forward. “Oppy’s expertise and commitment to reduce food waste was a natural alignment to continue to move the needle in our collective mission to eliminate food waste.”

Garland Perkins, Oppy’s senior manager of innovation and sustainability, led in the development of the newly formed partnership. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Food Forward, which has supported Oppy in its effort to upcycle product. This valuable partnership upholds one of our key sustainability focus areas: Ensuring we have solid repurposing programs in place to decrease our overall carbon footprint by mitigating waste.”