We are not a food program.
We are a Financial Literacy Program that uses food to fuel meaningful change.
“Birch is more than a place to get food. It’s a community that helps you believe your future is bright.”
- Melissa Reneé
Impact
by the numbers
Birch’s food program transforms surplus into stability. Thanks to generous in-kind donations from local businesses, farms, and grocers, we redistribute over one million pounds of food and household goods each month.
Our participant families shop weekly, agency partners reach tens of thousands more, and local farmers help us keep food waste out of landfills. It’s a system that supports families, sustains our community, and ensures nothing goes to waste.
886
$1,200
1,950
18
1-on-1 financial counseling sessions in 2024
Number of homes purchased in 2024
25
+15m
Farm partners reducing waste in 2024
Lbs. of product distributed in 2024
Average monthly grocery savings for participant families in 2024
Monthly participant households in 2024
45,000
64
Total reached each month through partner agencies
Number of partner agencies in 2024
35,495
Number of volunteer hours served at Birch in 2024
Sustainability
in action
At Birch, sustainability is built into how we serve. We steward every resource with care by turning food surplus into support, financial education into lasting change, and today’s efforts into tomorrow’s legacy. Our families play a role too, paying modest dues and volunteering monthly to help keep the program strong for everyone.
Through our farm and recycling partnerships, teaching garden, and commitment to financial literacy, we work toward a future where nothing is wasted: not food, not time, and not potential. In fact, 94% of the product we receive stays out of the landfill, redirected to nourish families, strengthen community, and fuel lasting stability.
Where
Sustainability
Takes Root
Since 2012, the Sunderland family has generously shared their land for Birch’s teaching garden. Each season, participants volunteer, get their hands dirty, and gain real-world skills that support long-term sustainability at home.
Hands-on lessons in composting, pest prevention, and soil health
Youth learn practical, confidence-building garden skills
Shared harvest, lifelong knowledge