What is Fresh Alliance Localization? 

Fresh Alliance will transition to a fully localized model, in which 100% of Fresh Alliance food is picked up by Partner Agencies. Sometimes this is referred to as “retail agency direct (RAD)” or “agency-enabled”. This is a significant change from our previous approach, which centered around OFB picking this food up and bringing it back to our warehouse for sorting and distribution.

Why are we changing Fresh Alliance from a centralized model to a local model?

This transition will help lift up our 10-year vision of A New Local Focus, by facilitating the kind of local relationships between Partner Agencies and donors that will strengthen community-scale solutions to hunger. This will also make permanent some of the positive things we’ve seen as a result of our suspension of Fresh Alliance during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly the expansion of delivery to Partner Agencies. This has allowed us to serve communities more effectively and efficiently, by increasing Partner Agency capacity and moving more food to those who need it (especially produce!). We also believe this change will increase quality of services to clients, by reducing the amount of time it takes to get a Fresh Alliance donation from the store to the pantry.

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