Cultivate Culinary School and Catering, Inc.: Cultivate Food Hub Cold Storage Facility

Like many communities across America, Michiana has a food insecurity problem. A recent census report revealed that there are an estimated 23,000 children living in poverty in St. Joseph, Elkhart, and Marshall counties. Many are unsure where their next meal is coming from at a time when the US wastes 133 billion pounds of food annually. The solution to this problem, according to a growing local organization, is simple: food rescue.

Since their establishment in 2016, Cultivate Food Rescue has rescued and distributed over four million pounds of perishable food to those in need in Michiana. Their expertise in infrastructure development and logistics has allowed them to serve tens of thousands during that time, but they believe they can make an even bigger impact with a little assistance.

A lack of sufficient storage space for frozen and refrigerated items often prevents them from accepting food into their facility, which then goes to waste. They estimate that the construction of a 21,000 square foot cold storage facility would increase their capacity for food rescue from 1 million to 19-20 million pounds annually, and submitted a grant request to the Foundation to aid in the construction of that facility. The Foundation, a previous Cultivate supporter familiar with their successes, approved a grant for the project.