Table to Table, in nearby Iowa City, is feeding the hungry, homeless and at-risk populations of their community with tons of wholesome edible food that would otherwise go into the local landfill.

Each week, Table to Table saves over 40,000 pounds of wholesome food from the landfill by collecting it from donors and distributing it through agencies that serve those in need. Donors include local farmers, the local hunger-relief farm Grow Johnson County and area supermarkets.

In 2016, Table to Table volunteers gave 10,700 hours to rescue 1.8 million pounds of food and distributed it to more than 35 agencies.

As part of Frontier Co-op's 2017 local giving, we donated $66,000 to Table to Table for the purchase of a replacement refrigerated van and the 1-yr lease of a larger refrigerated truck.

These trucks allow Table to Table to operate more efficiently and increase their reach to smaller relief agencies. The van replaces a 2002 van running daily routes, allowing the older van to be used for shorter, less weight-intensive runs redistributing donated food from the larger truck to small relief agencies.

A larger truck is needed for large scale donations from food warehousing facilities (some loads exceed 10,000 pounds). The organization currently rents a truck for as little time as possible. Leasing, rather than renting, the large truck will allow more flexibility of scheduling and breakdown for distribution (Many smaller agencies cannot handle deliveries of the full pallets from the warehouses.)

Since Table to Table began in April of 1996, its volunteers have kept over 12 million pounds of good food from going to waste and distributed it to hungry families and individuals. They charge no fee for their service, relying on support from the community to carry out their mission. Because the food they distribute is donated, every dollar given to Table to Table for their operations yields nearly thirty dollars of community impact.

We hope donations like ours help this great organization continue to grow and serve more people.