Fresh Food Connect

What Fresh Food Connect does

Fresh Food Connect is a Denver-based nonprofit organization founded in 2016 that operates a free mobile application connecting home gardeners with local hunger relief organizations to facilitate produce donations. The platform addresses two intersecting problems: US food insecurity (approximately 1 in 10 Americans) and the simultaneous prevalence of home food production (1 in 3 US households) and food waste (40% of food in the US). The mobile app uses zip-code-based matching to route gardeners to their nearest hunger relief partner, and provides scheduling, automated reminders, and impact tracking (pounds donated, meals provided, food banks supported). Supporting products include a web-based donation form for areas not yet covered by the app, a Community Garden Giving Kit, educational resources (Tomato Handbook, Spring Garden Guide), and the Giving G.N.O.M.E.s sustaining donor program.

The platform operates on a freemium model in both directions: the app is free for gardeners and for the hunger relief organizations (operators) that receive donations. The organization's revenue is derived entirely from philanthropic sources — primarily individual donations, a Sustaining Roots monthly recurring donor program, seasonal pledge campaigns, and corporate partnerships. The current promotional campaign matches all gifts up to $7,500. The partner network spans 100+ hunger relief organizations across at least seven states (Colorado, California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Washington, Maine), with notable partnerships including the San Diego Fresh Food Access Collaborative (four organizations), CSU Extension for educational content, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota's corporate Giving Garden program.

The organization is led by CEO Kayla Birdsong and operates with a small team of 1-10 employees. Strategic content and educational partnerships (CSU Extension, American Community Gardening Association) provide credibility and reach without commensurate headcount costs. The 2023 San Diego program alone served over 9,000 individuals and families with 18,000+ pounds of donated produce, illustrating the unit economics lever of low marginal cost per pound routed through the platform.

Name

Fresh Food Connect

Legal name

Fresh Food Connect

Website

https://freshfoodconnect.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fresh Food Connect is a Denver-based nonprofit that operates a free mobile app connecting home gardeners with local hunger relief organizations to facilitate produce donations, serving individual gardeners and 100+ hunger relief partners across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Donation Platform

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Safety Nets (In-Kind, Vouchers, Cash Transfers) (BPADAJAA)

Keywords

• Produce donation platform
• Hunger relief technology
• Community garden programs
• Food waste reduction
• Nonprofit mobile app

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Financial Donations: The organization accepts financial donations from the public to support operations, infrastructure, and growth. All gifts are matched up to $7,500 during campaign periods.
2. Sustaining Monthly Donor Program: Recurring monthly donations from committed supporters (Sustaining Roots campaign) providing predictable revenue stream
3. Non-Profit Partner Network: Hunger relief organizations (operators) use the platform free of charge to connect with local gardeners, expanding the organization's reach without direct revenue generation from partners

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fresh Food Connect operates a free mobile app that connects home gardeners with local hunger relief organizations, enabling them to schedule produce drop-offs or pickups, receive donation reminders, and track their impact (pounds donated, meals provided, partners supported). The platform matches gardeners to nearby operators by zip code and provides operator organizations with a dashboard for managing incoming donations. The service is offered at no cost to both gardeners and partner hunger relief organizations.

Product overview

Fresh Food Connect operates as a nonprofit technology platform that connects home gardeners with local hunger relief organizations to facilitate produce donations. The core offering is the free Fresh Food Connect mobile app, which serves as a matching and tracking tool connecting gardeners to nearby hunger relief partners. Supporting offerings include the Community Garden Giving Kit for group garden programs, the Giving G.N.O.M.E.s donor engagement program for sustaining gardeners, a web-based donation form for non-app users, and seasonal pledge campaigns with resources like the Spring Garden Guide and Tomato Handbook. The platform also sells branded merchandise like gardening aprons to support its nonprofit mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fresh Food Connect Mobile App A free mobile application for iOS and Android that connects home gardeners with local hunger relief organizations, enabling gardeners to schedule produce drop-offs or pickups, receive donation reminders with harvest timing tips, and track their impact (pounds donated, meals provided, food banks supported) through zip-code-based matching.
• Web-based Donation Form A direct donation logging tool available through the Fresh Food Connect website for gardeners who prefer not to use the mobile app or who live in areas not yet served by Fresh Food Connect.
• Fresh Food Connect Gardening Apron A branded premium full-length gardening apron with multiple pockets designed for organizing tools, seeds, and garden essentials, sold via a third-party shop with proceeds supporting Fresh Food Connect's nonprofit mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 9,000 individuals and families served with homegrown produce in San Diego alone in 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• San Diego Fresh Food Access CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership of four San Diego organizations (Healthy Day Partners, Heaven's Windows, I Love to Glean, Porchlight Community Services) working together to raise awareness of food insecurity and connect local gardeners with hunger relief. In 2023, these four organizations provided homegrown produce to over 9,000 individuals and families.
• Healthy Day PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Diego-based nonprofit with mission to nourish and heal people and planet through equitable food systems. Provides seed library, seasonal Grab & Grow garden kits, and convenient drop-off coolers at multiple locations including San Diego Botanical Garden.
• Heaven's WindowscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity resource network connecting families, seniors, migrants, and unhoused individuals with resources including food. Their Village Garden Project connects local growers to distribute produce through USDA Child Nutrition Meal Program sites and 12 food distribution sites.
• I Love to GleancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood recovery organization facilitating systems to recover and distribute otherwise wasted food. Focuses on collaborating with feeding organizations to procure, transport, and redirect healthy food to those in need.
• Porchlight Community ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization focused on self-sufficiency and financial security with dual food program including FoodSHARE for struggling families and free options for low-income families. Rescues food from restaurants, grocery stores, and bakeries.
• Colorado State University ExtensioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSU Extension provides expert horticulture content for Fresh Food Connect's blog, including guest contributors like Cassey Anderson, Horticulture Agent, who writes about composting, tomato gardening, and other gardening topics. Also provides Grow & Give program resources for Colorado gardeners.
• Project WorthmoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner focused on providing culturally relevant foods to refugee and immigrant communities. Has compiled a list of culturally appropriate produce to help gardeners grow items relevant to diverse community needs.
• American Community Gardening AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization bringing together community gardeners and leaders in horticulture, food access, and seed saving. Fresh Food Connect CEO presented at ACGA conference to promote homegrown food donation.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield MinnesotaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner with a Giving Garden program that demonstrates how organizations can support hunger relief through homegrown produce donations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Food Recovery Network: Student-led nonprofit recovering surplus food from college campuses for redistribution to communities in need. Comparable nonprofit food rescue model with similar volunteer-driven, tech-supported operations.
• Olio: Free app enabling neighbors and businesses to share surplus food and other items. Comparable as a mobile-first, free food sharing platform with a similar community-led, donation-oriented ethos.
• FoodCloud: Ireland-founded nonprofit tech platform connecting businesses with surplus food to charities via a matching app. Closely comparable as a two-sided food rescue marketplace operating on a free/charitable model similar to Fresh Food Connect.
• 412 Food Rescue: Pittsburgh-based nonprofit using a proprietary app to redirect surplus food from businesses to communities facing food insecurity. Directly comparable mission, technology-enabled matching model, and nonprofit structure.
• FarmLink Project: Nonprofit that connects farmers with surplus produce to food banks. Comparable as a food rescue intermediary using technology to match supply with hunger-relief demand, though at farm rather than home-garden scale.

Broad incumbents

• WhyHunger: National nonprofit focused on ending hunger through advocacy, resource directories, and a national hotline. Comparable mission and audience but operates at a broader policy and resource-navigation level rather than direct produce matching.
• Feeding America: Largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, operating a national network of 200+ food banks. Comparable end beneficiary of food donations but vastly larger in scale, scope, and resources.
• Food Bank of the Rockies: Regional food bank serving Colorado and Wyoming, partnering with Fresh Food Connect for produce distribution. Comparable as a hunger-relief organization accepting donated produce but at much larger operational scale.

Others

• Misfits Market: Online grocer delivering surplus and 'ugly' produce via subscription. Adjacent in addressing food waste and produce access, but operates as a commercial subscription retailer rather than a nonprofit donation platform.

Emerging players

• FoodFinder: Mobile app helping users locate nearby free food assistance programs. Comparable as a tech-enabled food access platform, though focused on food assistance discovery rather than produce donation matching.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/freshfoodconnect
• Instagraminstagram.com/freshfoodconnect
• Xx.com/FreshFoodConnec
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fresh-food-connect

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fresh Food Connect