Your Purchases Fed People and Healed the Planet
In 2023, The FruitGuys shipped 384,000 boxes containing 20.6 million servings of fruit and snacks. Every single serving helped us positively impact our communities and the planet.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who chose to order from our women- and family-owned, B Corp Certified business in 2023. Together, we helped sustain small independent farms and provide hunger relief nationwide. Thank you!
2023: Impact At a Glance
- 20.86% of the value of The FruitGuys’ profits donated to relieve hunger and support small farms
- 677,123 people fed through The FruitGuys’ weekly donations
- 18 grants awarded to small farms and agricultural nonprofits for sustainability projects
- 315 tons of CO2 emissions diverted through produce donations
- 40,972 people fed by generous FruitGuys clients like you via Donate-a-Crate
- 20 million servings of fruit and snacks purchased directly from independent farmers and food producers
- $1,705,836 spent sourcing from diverse suppliers
- 96% of The FruitGuys’ team members reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with The FruitGuys as a place to work
- 2,612 hours of paid volunteer time for team members
- 120,071 students fed through our Farm-to-School Program
- 2 awards received recognizing The FruitGuys’ mission and impact
"We’re excited to share our collective impact with you — from the number of individuals nourished by our donations to the grants awarded to small farms for sustainability initiatives."
The Stories Behind the Numbers:
Recommitting to Our B Corp Business Model
Since 1998, The FruitGuys has been on a mission to connect people, nourish communities, and regenerate the planet. We became a Certified B Corp in 2019 to make our values-driven business model even more transparent and to codify our mission.
Before we were certified, The FruitGuys already aimed to donate a minimum value of 20% of our annual profits to relieve hunger and support small farms. We formalized that commitment when we became a B Corp.
In 2023, we went above and beyond our goal by donating 20.86% of the value of our annual profits!
To reach that number, we made weekly produce and snack donations to a network of local hunger relief partners nationwide. We also awarded annual grants to small farms through The FruitGuys Community Fund.
Every three years, Certified B Corps must renew their certifications and recommit to continually improving their business practices, their work environments, and their impact on their communities and the planet. In 2023, The FruitGuys completed this challenging process and successfully re-certified as a B Corp.
Donating Weekly to Relieve Hunger
Every week, The FruitGuys donates excess fresh fruit, veggies, and snacks to local community partners to help relieve hunger. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cut back on those donations at some facilities in 2020. In 2023, we revived old partnerships, increased our donations across the 11 regions we operate in, and returned to supporting a network of 30 hunger relief partners!
Your business with us fed 677,123 individuals in need.
“The fruitful partnership with FruitGuys nourishes our community's spirit and health, one bite at a time.”
Reducing Food Waste & CO2 Emissions
Hunger and food insecurity exist in every community. Since our founding we’ve practiced zero food waste while increasing access to healthy food for people in need.
By donating excess fruit, veggies, and snacks instead of sending them to the landfill, we reduced food waste and prevented harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Our produce donations diverted 315 tons of CO2 emissions.
Fruiting It Forward Through Donate-a-Crate
Many generous clients like you forwarded their deliveries to people in need through our network of local community partners and other regional charities of their choosing. This option to “fruit it forward” is available year-round, and it’s particularly popular during the holidays.
Generous clients like you fed 40,972 people via Donate-a-Crate.
Thank you for forwarding your delivery to a local hunger relief partner!
Assisting Farmers Through The Community Fund
The FruitGuys Community Fund (TFGCF) provides annual grants to small farms and agricultural nonprofits for sustainability projects. Every project we fund has a large positive impact on the environment, local food systems, and farm diversity.
In 2023, TFGCF helped its largest class of farm grantees so far:
18 small farms and agricultural nonprofits from 15 different states received a total of $83,757 in grant funding.
Most of those funds went to farmers of color, LGBTQ farmers, women farmers, and beginning farmers. We aimed to provide critical support to underrepresented farmers and communities that have been historically marginalized.
The total awards grew by more than 17% from 2022 and the program extended its regional impact to support farms in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky for the first time. The grantee projects improved water conservation, energy efficiency, biodiversity, pollination, seed preservation, and ecological land management.
The 2023 grant awards were made possible by the Small Farms, Big Impacts campaign, a grant from the National Philanthropic Trust, and continued program support from our major donor, Aramark. Aramark is a Philadelphia-based food and facilities service provider. In 2022, it committed to funding at least ten nonprofit farms led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers each year through 2025.
The FruitGuys covers all administrative and staffing costs for the Community Fund in addition to contributing to the annual grant budget.
One of our 2023 grantees, Prairie Hills Farm, is a seven-acre farm in Selma, IN, that grows around twenty different fruits and vegetables using organic practices. They also raise pasture-fed goats, chickens, and turkeys. Farmers Sylvester and Sabrina Friend have partnered with local schools, youth groups, and agricultural organizations to share their gardening and farming knowledge with the community. With their $4,945 grant, they constructed hoop houses on their raised planting beds to extend their growing season, reduced water usage by installing a rain catchment and drip irrigation system, and purchased gardening tools and supplies for a youth farming program.
“The farm will continue to have positive impacts regeneratively collecting rainwater, reducing the wasted water by utilizing drip, and extending our growing season. … [Because of our grant funds] we have the appropriate tools and safety equipment when volunteers and youth groups come to the farm to learn.”
Supporting Diverse, Independent Farmers & Food Producers
In 2023, we continued to source produce and snacks from independent farmers and food producers across the U.S. and build long-term relationships with them. Many of the farms we partner with are small-scale and/or family-owned.
We purchased 20 million servings of fruit and snacks directly from independent farms and food producers.
Supplier diversity is key for us because we believe it is essential to creating a healthy food system and thriving communities.
We spent $1,705,836 with diverse suppliers.
Nurturing Our Team & Communities
Our team members are the core of everything we do at The FruitGuys. For us, putting people first means providing work-life balance, fair compensation, and opportunities for professional development and growth. We also aim to create a culture of empathy, compassion, and inclusivity—with lots of fresh fruit and healthy snacks along the way! In 2023, we sent out a satisfaction and engagement survey to our team to identify successful company practices and areas for improvement.
96% of our team members responded that they are very satisfied or satisfied with The FruitGuys as a place to work!
Throughout 2023, The FruitGuys paid our team for volunteer time spent preparing and staging weekly fruit and snack donations, attending donation events, and evaluating applications for The FruitGuys Community Fund’s annual farm grant cycle.
The FruitGuys paid our team members for 2,612 hours of volunteer service.
Feeding Kids Through Our Farm-to-School Program
In 2023, our Farm-to-School Program provided fresh produce and nutrition education materials to schools in California and beyond. We partnered with food service staff to help combat obesity and related diseases, improve student nutrition, reduce hunger, inspire wellness, and share the joy of eating healthy, farm-fresh produce.
120,071 students across 381 schools consumed more than 9.3 million servings of The FruitGuys’ fruit.
Earning Recognition & Awards
In 2023, we received Inc.’s 2023 Best In Business Award for our recent work to fight food insecurity.
Real Leaders Magazine also named The FruitGuys a Top Impact Company. The FruitGuys’ long-term focus on supporting small farms and alleviating hunger in our communities played a huge part in receiving this award.
Onward and Upward: Our Plans for 2024
The FruitGuys Community Fund: The Fund’s 2024 Grant Cycle will provide another round of critical support to small farms stewarding our environment and stabilizing our climate. We hope to fund up to 20 projects thanks in part to generous support from Aramark. Aramark’s ongoing three-year commitment helps us sustain Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led farms and agricultural nonprofits.
Relieving Hunger: We will continue to provide weekly fresh food to people in need by donating produce and snacks to our network of local community partners.
Donate-a-Crate: Our program will continue to give clients like you the opportunity to forward your orders to our community partners or charities of your choice. Your fruit and snacks will bring smiles and health to those in need!
