With a passion for healthy and flavorful foods, Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars is excited to partner with community organizations to strengthen those opportunities for others. Each of these organizations have a dedication to equipping communities with food in a way that preserves the dignity and choice of those they equip.
Our Traverse City Fustini’s location has partnered with Food Rescue as part of our Fustini’s Cares initiative. This means that 1% of every sale will be donated to the amazing work that Food Rescue is doing.
Want to get to know this amazing community organization that you can support? We connected with Food Rescue’s Taylor Moore to hear more about the great work this organization is doing in our very own community.
What influence does community have in supporting others?
We envision a community where everyone has access to the healthy food they need. To have that become a reality, I believe we must work together as a community.
The community created Food Rescue in 2008. There were leaders, but it required the support of the community. For us to distribute over two million pounds of food per year, it requires the direct work of thousands of community members working together.
At every store we rescue from, there are hundreds of employees who make sure the food is separated out for us to rescue. At every pantry and meal sites, there are multiple volunteers that take the food off our trucks, sort it, and stock it. Every week we have over 20 community members volunteer at the warehouse repacking food. Every year, hundreds of people donate money directly to Food Rescue to keep our trucks on the road. And, for the many thousands of people who donate to or shop at Goodwill Northern Michigan, they are supporting Food Rescue.
We rely on the community to support us, and the community relies on us to make sure good food is getting put to good use.
What difference does dignity and choice bring to providing others with healthy & flavorful food?
Our focus is on providing healthy food to food pantries and meal sites. In the past year we have worked with 106 grocery stores, bakeries, food producers and 72 local farms to distribute more fruits and vegetables than ever before.
In 2014, we learned by asking those needing food pantry services what they needed support with and they said healthy food. So, we asked the pantries whether they had fresh produce to offer the neighbors they served.
Nearly 10 years ago, there were only two pantries who always had fresh fruits and vegetables available. Today, that number is up to 25 pantries in the five counties. In that same time, we added a truck, changed our routes, started gleaning at local farms, rescuing at farmers markets, and partnering with other organizations and businesses to better serve our community. We are distributing more than twice as much produce and healthy foods now than we were in 2014.
At the heart of this is a focus on dignity – over 1/3 of us in our community struggle to access and afford the healthy food we need to live a healthy and happy life. There are some children, adults, and seniors in our community that go hungry at night. When you keep dignity at the core of your work–the belief that everyone deserves the right to healthy food–then you do what you can to meet the current needs while also working to reduce the need in the first place.
What does this exciting partnership with Fustini's mean for Food Rescue?
Whenever I have used Fustini’s oils and vinegars, I feel like I’m showing respect to the food I’m about to eat or cook. Food’s value is far more than its dollar value or its calorie count.
Food brings people together in community, it’s something we share, something we enjoy, something that shouldn’t be wasted and ought be celebrated.
I know Fustini’s shares that opinion, and I think our supporters share that too. There are certain products, like a fantastic oil or vinegar, that make me think that bit more about the food, care a little bit more. We want the same folks who support Fustini’s to support Food Rescue and to get involved in the work to make sure each of our neighbors has the healthy food they need. I think our partnership will get people to care a little bit more, to enjoy their food, and to work to make sure that others can too.
SUPPORT FOOD RESCUE THROUGH FUSTINI’S CARES
You can help support the incredible work that Food Rescue is doing in your own community. With each purchase at Fustini’s, 1% of that sale is donated to Food Rescue! To learn more about Food Rescue and how you can further get involved, visit https://www.goodwillnmi.org/food.