News & Updates

We are seeking to better understand the impact of food rescue in the Michiana area. Our first annual food rescue community survey seeks to gather insights on how well food rescue efforts are understood and how many people in the area know about the work we perform. We...

2022 Annual Report

After six years of service and devotion to our mission, Co-Founder and Director of Operations, Randy Z has decided to move on to the next chapter in his life. Randy’s unwavering dedication and work ethic have been instrumental to Cultivate’s growth and success. His...

July 2022 NewsletterBig Changes Are Coming to Cultivate! We're bursting at the seams and ready for an expansion. Stay tuned in the coming months for additional details!A Note From Our Executive Director One Friday in May, the Board of Directors and many staff members...

School's Out For the Summer, Now What?! Summer Solutions for Hungry Children We often get the question this time of year, "What happens to Cultivate's backpack program in the summer?". The end of the school year often brings additional stress to food-insecure students...

April NewsletterKetchup with Cultivate Three years ago, Penn High School teacher, Amy Zimmer, had the idea to bring her Exceptional Education students to Cultivate and volunteer. With the goal of learning life skills such as following directions and teamwork, she...

March NewsletterKetchup with CultivateAll the Right Ingredients Is everyone dreaming about spring break, the beach and seafood? Chef Randy Z is! Shrimp Relish 1 cup small raw shrimp - peeled, deveined, and chopped 1 cup sour cream (for a healthier option, substitute...

February 2022 Newsletter Ketchup with Cultivate   Cultivate wins $1 Million Grant from St. Joseph County Council As you may have heard, the St. Joseph County Council awarded us with $1 Million in American Rescue Plan funds. These dollars will go toward our campaign to...

You may wonder what the new Trader Joe’s Supermarket in South Bend has to do with a woman who brings her child to lunch at St. Margaret’s House. What is the connection between the 4-H kid raising livestock and…

The pandemic of 2020-2021 was a historic time for humanity. Upon the reflection and soul-searching that so many of us have done…

Our Meat Hunger program raises funds to purchase livestock from 4-H youth. This week, from the farm to our kitchen…

It’s that time of year, back to school time!  While kids are busy buying school supplies and getting into the early morning routine, local school administrations are gearing up for another year of providing backpack meals to their food-insecure children. From...

Four years ago, we started on this food rescue journey. It all started when we saw a huge need in our community: thousands of people are hungry every day, while 40% of our food supply is being thrown away. Between July 2017 and July 2018, we rescued 80,200 pounds of...

June 2021 NewsletterTransform 2021 Cultivate rescued 1,037,240 pounds of food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, delivered 240,081 meals, and had a 439% growth increase in distributed food from previous years. These are phenomenal numbers that measure our impact in the...

May 2021 NewsletterFarmers to Family Combo Boxes Cultivate Receives 7,000 Boxes! In March and April, we were able to receive and deliver nearly 7,000 Farm to Family boxes to people in our community. Working with partners like Milford Food Bank, Society of St. Andrews,...

April 2021 NewsletterUnspoken Impact Not just food. Inspiration. Cultivate rescued 1,037,240 pounds of food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, delivered 240,081 meals, and had a 439% growth increase in distributed food from previous years. Despite all of these numbers,...

Transform 2021 We know that last year was one of the toughest our communities have faced in a long time. The need to do more is present. As 2021 kicks off, Cultivate Food Rescue wanted to look inward. What motivates us and our communities to change? Where do we fit...

New Volunteer Software We are live with our new volunteer software! This will make it easier to keep track of our volunteer hours and for you to sign-in upon arrival at Cultivate. Download the Volunteer Local App to ease the sign-in process and view your profile and...