On a cold November day in 1988, a few days before Thanksgiving, volunteers loaded a borrowed van with bread, milk, eggs and assorted vegetables including bright orange carrots that would become the symbol of their organization. They hopped in the van and drove to centers of various hot meal programs in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. This was the start of Food Gatherers, a food rescue organization that still operates today.

The idea of founding Food Gatherers came from Paul Saginaw, co-founder and co-owner of Zingerman’s. “The idea came from an article that I came across in a food magazine back in 1988,” said Saginaw. “It talked about a group of food photographers in New York City who leased a van and took turns going around to the various photo shoots that were happening in the city. They would pick up the food that might have been thrown out and delivered it to the local Salvation Army kitchen. I thought that was a brilliant idea. ” This led to the birth of Food Gatherers, Michigan’s first and only food rescue program founded by a for-profit business. Paul and his partner, Ari Weinzweig, believed that Zingerman’s should be a good corporate citizen by contributing to the community.

In the beginning funding and support for Food Gatherers was mainly from Zingerman’s and local area businesses and institutions. According to Saginaw, Food Gatherers “was housed at the Delicatessen and all of the funding came from Zingerman’s.” Zingerman’s not only funded Food Gatherers but also carried out the collection and distribution of donated food. “In a borrowed van, we drove around town picking up food from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and dorms. We would then drop the food off at various community agencies that we charged with feeding people in need,” said Saginaw.

Over the many years, Food Gatherers has changed the way it operates and has had a great impact on Washtenaw County. One significant change is the scale at which it operates and its importance in the community. According to Saginaw, “Now rescued food represents the largest percentage of what is handled, but we have since become the County Food Bank” and “… we also handle one or two other sources of food.” The organization that once handled food for the poor of Ann Arbor has served Washtenaw County’s poor since 2005 when it moved into the warehouse located at 1 Carrot Way. It has also created a development of low income housing in a partnership with Avalon Housing. “We moved out of the Deli into a modern warehouse with an attached garden, and . . . now receive funding from a variety of sources,” said Saginaw.

As Food Gatherers continues to help feed the poor to relieve hunger, its operational procedures have evolved. Currently, Food Gatherers works with a network of 150 non-profit organizations and programs to provide direct food services free of charge to individuals and families where they work, go to school and live. Food Gatherers delivers food to many agencies. According to Mary H. Schlitt, Chief Development Officer at Food Gatherers, “Food Gatherers’ food rescue program is mostly perishable items, food that is not profitable to sell, close-dated, overstock, seasonal, cosmetically damaged items. Many perishable food items are nearing the end of their shelf life so they are rescued and delivered within 24-48 hours.”

Food Gatherers’ volunteers help organize the donated food, separating the unusable food for composting and crating up the edible food for later distribution. According to Schlitt, “Food Gatherers rescues more than seven tons of a food a day,” and “spends over $1 Million on purchasing fresh produce and high protein items.” Currently Food Gatherers is “…focused on increasing access to fresh fruit, vegetables and high protein items like meat, dairy, eggs and other high protein items,” said Schlitt.

Some of the people that receive food distributed by Food Gatherers include residents of local senior centers. A senior resident Mrs. Zhao who lives in the Parkway Meadows Apartments Complex at 2575 Sandalwood Circle is one of many recipients. She walks slowly with the help of her walker into the conference room where she will get two bags of food. The bags usually contain “…fruits and vegetables {such as} apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, onions, cabbage, yams, potato, milk and milk products, fish cakes, breads, snack, cereal and peanut butter,” said Zhao. Zhao and other residents get their food delivered every second Saturday each month.

Even though the food is given out for free, there are requirements for the recipients. Only one bag per family member is allotted. “Each senior family has a Food Gatherers’ card that notes the number of family members living in the apartment,” said Zhao. Food Gatherers is important to many senior citizens since they have difficulties carrying heavy items and even getting to stores. Many residents who live in these types of apartment complexes are low-income seniors who really appreciate the efforts by the passionate volunteers of Food Gatherers. “I don’t need to buy those heavy fruits and vegetables from the grocery stores, especially in cold weather,” Zhao said, “ … I am happy to get any food and am very thankful for their hard work. It takes volunteers a lot of time to divide food in hundreds of bags for seniors. It is not easy. All food items are useful to me, especially fruits and vegetables.”

An idea of Saginaw’s in 1988 has become one of the biggest food programs in Michigan serving 44,500 people annually and providing food for 13,000 meals daily. According to Saginaw “We believe that Food Gatherers has had an enormous impact in our county. They not only provide nutritious food that sustains people’s bodies, they give people hope by demonstrating love and generosity.” Saginaw believes that giving to others makes oneself a better person. “In return those that give receive the gift of being useful and relevant. So there is reciprocity in the exchange.”