Groente & Fruitbrigade voor voedselbanken

What Groente & Fruitbrigade voor voedselbanken does

Stichting Groente & Fruit voor Voedselbanken, operating as Groente & Fruitbrigade, is a Dutch ANBI-registered charitable foundation founded in 2018 to rescue surplus and non-standard ("buitenbeentjes") vegetables and fruit from growers, traders, and processors and redistribute them free of charge to food-insecure households via Voedselbanken Nederland. The organization runs three physical sorting and distribution hubs — Poeldijk (Westland), Nagele (Noordoostpolder), and Venlo (Limburg) — strategically co-located with the country's principal horticultural production regions. Volunteers quality-check, sort, and repackage incoming produce before it is collected by Voedselbanken Nederland's regional distribution centers and delivered to 176 local food banks, ultimately serving 96,000+ people weekly including 19,000+ children. The Venlo hub additionally operates a full cooled transport chain enabling distribution of fresh-cut produce, and a Nagele-based pilot with Waterman Onions, Geersing Potato Specialist, and Top Fresh launched in June 2025 aims at year-round supply of potatoes, onions, and carrots.

The organization has no commercial revenue, product lines, or proprietary software platform; its operating model is a logistics and volunteer-coordination service funded entirely by in-kind produce donations, financial gifts from individuals and corporates, and project-specific grants from Dutch provinces and impact funds. Cumulative throughput reached 10+ million kg of rescued produce by June 2024, with current annual processing estimated at approximately 5 million kg. Capital expenditure is grant-driven and modest (e.g., €50,000 Province of Zuid-Holland in 2020 for truck/facility expansion; €6,000 Rabo Impactfonds in 2024 for a bulk-bin tipper; €10,000 Duurzame Dinsdag Jury Prize in September 2024). A planned mobile online platform, developed jointly with infrastructure asset manager Rivoir Capital under a non-profit foundation wrapper and supported by the Province of Utrecht's U-Forward Challenge (April 2024), represents the first technology-build effort aimed at faster unlocks of small lots from growers. Governance rests with an eight-member board chaired since July 2023 by Gert Mulder, succeeding founder Willem van Prooijen.

Name

Groente & Fruitbrigade voor voedselbanken

Legal name

Stichting Groente & Fruit voor Voedselbanken

Website

https://groentefruitbrigade.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Groente & Fruitbrigade voor Voedselbanken is a Dutch ANBI foundation that collects, sorts, and redistributes surplus fresh produce from growers and traders via Voedselbanken Nederland to 176 food banks serving 96,000+ people weekly, operating three volunteer-run hubs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable food rescue and redistribution

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (42448)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Fresh Produce Packhouses (Fruits & Vegetables) (AFAOAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fresh Produce Distribution (CRAOABAB)

Keywords

• Surplus produce redistribution
• Food bank supply chain
• Food waste reduction
• Volunteer logistics
• Fresh produce rescue

Headquarters

HQ city

Houten

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Food donations (produce): Growers, traders, and agricultural companies donate surplus produce (non-standard size, shape, color, or excess inventory) at no cost. The organization sorts, repackages, and distributes this to Voedselbanken Nederland. No monetary transaction occurs between donor and organization.
2. Financial donations: The organization receives financial donations from individuals (Vrienden van), companies, and institutional funders for projects, trucks, and operational costs. It is registered as an ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling), making donations tax-deductible in the Netherlands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Groente & Fruitbrigade collects surplus and non-standard vegetables and fruits (buitenbeentjes, overschotten, restpartijen) from growers and traders, inspects and repackages the produce at three physical sorting hubs, and redistributes it to Voedselbanken Nederland's regional distribution centers for delivery to 176 local food banks. All operations are carried out by approximately 120 volunteers, and produce is delivered free of charge.

Product overview

Groente & Fruitbrigade voor Voedselbanken is a nonprofit charitable organization — not a technology product company. It does not sell software, platforms, or digital products. Its sole service is the collection, quality inspection, sorting, repackaging, and redistribution of surplus and non-standard vegetables and fruits donated by growers and traders to food banks across the Netherlands. Operations are carried out by volunteers at three physical locations (Poeldijk, Nagele, and Venlo) and distributed through the regional distribution center network of Voedselbanken Nederland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Surplus produce collection, sorting and redistribution

Quantifiable outcome

• 10+ million kg of rescued vegetables and fruit since founding in 2018
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Waterman OnionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 June 2025Waterman Onions, a global player in sorting, packaging, and exporting onions, committed to the Nagele pilot for year-round supply of potatoes, onions, and carrots to Utrecht food banks. Member of the Agrofoodcluster Emmeloord.
• Geersing Potato SpecialistcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 June 2025Specialized in high-quality seed and consumption potatoes. Committed to the Nagele pilot for year-round supply of potatoes, onions, and carrots to Utrecht food banks as part of the Agrofoodcluster Emmeloord partnership.
• Top FreshcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 June 2025Leading supplier of fresh carrots with modern processing facilities. Committed to the Nagele pilot for year-round supply of potatoes, onions, and carrots to Utrecht food banks as part of the Agrofoodcluster Emmeloord partnership.
• Rivoir CapitalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 December 2024Rivoir Capital, an infrastructure asset manager, is developing a mobile online platform in collaboration with Groente & Fruitbrigade to faster unlock small lots of produce from growers and traders. The application is developed and operated through a dedicated foundation with no profit motive.
• GroentenFruit HuiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2024Industry association for vegetable and fruit companies (representing ~80% of the €18 billion Dutch sector). Signed an intention agreement (intentieovereenkomst) alongside Voedselbanken Nederland, Groente & Fruitbrigade, and Groentebrigade Manna to increase access to fresh healthy food for people in poverty. Goal: making fruit and vegetable donations the norm within 3 years.
• Groentebrigade MannacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2024Co-signed the intention agreement with Voedselbanken Nederland, GroentenFruit Huis, and Groente & Fruitbrigade to broaden the distribution and consumption of fresh, varied food for people in poverty. Groentebrigade Manna provides a seamless connection in the business process of fruit and vegetable traders and growers.
• Hessing SuperVersmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 June 2024Major vegetable processing company producing 800,000 packages of cut vegetables and fruit daily. Donates surplus still suitable for human consumption. Awarded the first 'Samenwerkingspartner' (Collaboration Partner) certificate by Groente & Fruitbrigade at the Venlo opening. Daily supply to Groente & Fruitbrigade Venlo.
• Gemeente VenlominorOthers · 19 June 2024The municipality of Venlo actively supports the Groente & Fruitbrigade Venlo. Alderman Erwin Boom (Economy, Social Affairs, and Knowledge Infrastructure) opened the Venlo location in June 2025, emphasizing the city's commitment to healthy food access for residents with lower incomes.
• BioRomeomajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 June 2024Organic farming business in Ens (Noordoostpolder), cultivating 70 hectares. The largest donor to the Nagele location, supplying onions, beets, carrots, potatoes, and legumes. Approximately 5-10% of harvest donated to the brigade. Located near Nagele which reduces sorting and packaging burden for the company.
• Koppert CressminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 June 2023Hosted the 5-year jubilee celebration of the Groente & Fruitbrigade at their facility, marking the anniversary where the organization presented its plan to supply food banks with fresh produce.
• TebozaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2021Asparagus supplier from Helden, Limburg. The first Limburg donor to the Groente & Fruitbrigade Venlo location, supplying fresh Limburg asparagus to local food banks.
• Nature's PridemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 6 September 2018Nature's Pride was the first major donor of the Groente & Fruitbrigade, supplying avocados and mangoes weekly. The Nature's Pride Foundation donated funds to purchase a compact delivery truck, enabling the organization to collect donations more efficiently and plan logistics better.
• Voedselbanken NederlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2018Voedselbanken Nederland is the exclusive recipient of all produce distributed by the Groente & Fruitbrigade. The organization is embedded within Voedselbanken Nederland's supply chain, delivering sorted produce to regional distribution centers which then supply local food banks across the Netherlands. Founded in 2018 as an initiative of Voedselbanken Nederland.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Groentebrigade Manna: Dutch non-profit that rescues and redistributes surplus fresh produce. Co-signed the October 2024 sector intention agreement with Groente & Fruitbrigade, GroentenFruit Huis, and Voedselbanken Nederland, indicating it operates a directly comparable fresh-produce-for-food-banks model in the same market.
• Olio: Food-sharing platform that redistributes surplus food between households, retailers, and restaurants. Comparable to Groente & Fruitbrigade in its mission of rescuing surplus food and routing it to users who need it, though focused on B2C peer-to-peer sharing rather than a centralized sorting hub model.
• Too Good To Go: European surplus-meal marketplace connecting consumers, retailers, and food service operators to reduce food waste. Operates a similar food-rescue mission to Groente & Fruitbrigade's surplus-produce model, though via a commercial consumer app rather than a non-profit distribution hub.
• Verspillingsarm: Dutch foundation focused on reducing food waste, active in the same sectoral coalition as Groente & Fruitbrigade. Both work to redirect surplus food from the Dutch agri-food chain to consumers in need, making it a direct mission-aligned peer in the same geography.

Regional players

• OzHarvest: Australia's leading food rescue charity, collecting surplus food from producers and retailers for distribution to charities. Operates a directly comparable model of rescuing, sorting, and redistributing surplus food through a charity network, though at national scale and including prepared meals.
• FoodCloud: Irish social enterprise connecting surplus food from retailers and producers to charities and community groups. Comparable to Groente & Fruitbrigade in mission and mechanism (rescuing surplus food and redistributing it to charity partners), with a technology-enabled matching platform rather than a physical hub.
• FareShare UK: UK charity that redistributes surplus food to a network of frontline charities, including food banks. Closely mirrors Groente & Fruitbrigade's model of sorting, quality-checking, and redistributing donated food through a downstream charity network, though operating at much larger scale in the UK.

Others

• Nature's Pride: Major Dutch fresh produce importer and the founding donor of Groente & Fruitbrigade. Nature's Pride Foundation funded the brigade's first truck and provides weekly avocado and mango donations, making it a key supplier/ecosystem participant rather than a direct operational peer.
• Voedselbanken Nederland: Dutch national food bank network and the exclusive downstream recipient of Groente & Fruitbrigade's rescued produce. While it is the anchor customer/partner rather than a competitor, it is the most structurally comparable organization in the Dutch food-rescue ecosystem and the channel through which the brigade's social impact is delivered.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: Largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, running a nationwide network of 200+ food banks. Comparable to Groente & Fruitbrigade's downstream partner Voedselbanken Nederland in function (operating the food bank network that receives rescued produce), though at vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCb59Y1kfNUm3N7mof52RJRg
• Facebookfacebook.com/GroenteFruitBrigade
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groente-fruitbrigade
• Instagraminstagram.com/groentefruitbrigade

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Groente & Fruitbrigade voor voedselbanken