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CanDo’s Food Rescue Team
Waste Not, Want Not
When staff at the Napa Farmers Market asked CanDo to help rescue produce that might otherwise go to waste, we eagerly accepted. At every Saturday Farmers Market, you’ll find our volunteers in bright yellow CanDo safety vests collecting fresh produce donated by the Market’s generous vendors and shoppers.
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CanDo volunteers team with our friends at Feeding It Forward Napa Valley to collect and then transport these fresh fruits and veggies to folks in need all over Napa County.
What better way to spend one hour of your weekend? You choose any Saturday that works for you-- year-round!
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One thing volunteers appreciate about working with CanDo’s Food Rescue Team is that they do so much good in just one hour.
Can you join us at Napa’s fabulous Farmers Markets on any Saturday, 11:30-12:30, to collect fresh produce? That’s all it takes to help ease food insecurity in the Napa Valley.​​​
​The amount of produce rescued has grown every year since we started. How about some stats?
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Year one, 2016: 3,018 pounds
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Year nine, 2024: 12,680 pounds
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Total (2016-2024): 60,417 pounds
WHAT WE DO
• Every Saturday year-round, Napa Valley CanDo’s Food Rescue Team volunteers collect produce that might otherwise go to waste. This is donated by our generous Farmers Market vendors. and shoppers.
• This rescued food is then delivered by Christian Vargas of Feeding It Forward to farm worker camps, local neighborhoods, senior centers, and other distribution locations around the Valley.
• The Napa Farmers Market is located in the parking lot at 1100 West Street in downtown Napa. The market is open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
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HOW IT WORKS
• At 11:30 , you'll meet us at the intersection of Pearl and Yajome, near the blocked-off dead end section of Yajome. Look for the refrigerated Feeding It Forward van.
• Around 11:40 we distribute bins to participating vendors.
• Around noon, we start collecting and weighing the full bins, then transfer them to the refrigerated truck.
• 12:30ish: We’re done! Christian takes off to deliver the food to various distribution points throughout the valley.
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WHAT YOU NEED
• We’ll ask you to sign a waiver the first time you volunteer with us. You can also download a waiver on the sign up sheet.
• During the summer, bring a reusable water bottle and a hat. It can be hot.
• Please wear shoes with closed toes.
