Food To Power is cultivating a just and regenerative food ecosystem in greater Colorado Springs through inter-connected programming in food access, food education, food production, advocacy, and composting.
Since 2013, Food To Power has diverted over 5 million pounds of wasted food from the landfill. 70% of that is edible food, recovered from grocery stores, distribution centers, and retailers — anywhere along the supply chain where perfectly good food would otherwise go to waste. Food To Power’s network of volunteers and partners intervene to redistribute that food to community-based no-cost grocery programs. Now with 9 no-cost grocery programs city-wide, Food To Power’s food recovery work has supplied $13 million worth of food to households facing food insecurity. 35,000 people are served by no-cost grocery programs and no-cost grocery delivery annually.
The Food To Power Farm, located at our headquarters, the Hillside Hub neighborhood food center, engages the community in local food production. On less than half an acre, staff and volunteers grow nearly 10,000 lbs of fresh vegetables annually. Produce is distributed back to the community at low-cost through values-aligned retailers serving underserved populations in Colorado Springs and at no-cost through the on-site no-cost grocery program and community fridge that’s accessible 24/7.
Food To Power Compost is our in-house social enterprise, providing curbside collection and dropoff locations for residents and businesses to compost their food scraps. To-date, we’ve collected and composted over 1.6 million lbs of food waste from over 700 clients. Finished compost is distributed back to subscribers twice annually, and Food To Power Compost educates the public and food producers about the benefits of amending soil with compost for crop health, water absorption, carbon sequestration, and food security.