Yavapai Food Neighboors Project


2025 Pick-Up Dates

  • 8-Feb
  • 12-Apr
  • 14-Jun
  • 9-Aug
  • 11-Oct
  • 13-Dec

 


How the Yavapai Food Neighbors Project Works

 

Yavapai Food Neighbors Project began in 2014 with a small group of citizens looking for a simple way for people to donate food to local food banks.

They drew from a model developed in Ashland, Oregon, which created a system of distributing recyclable “Green Bags” for donors to fill up and neighborhood coordinators to pick up. The food went to food banks that distributed it to the people who needed it.

Yavapai Food Neighbors’ first drive was done by six neighborhood coordinators who collected about 1,200 pounds of food.

Over the next decade, the total grew to one million pounds of food!

That impressive milestone was crossed in 2024 thanks to the efforts of 2,200 donors and 115 neighborhood coordinators in Prescott, Prescott Valley and Chino Valley. Civic and faith groups also donate their time at collection sites. Everyone is a volunteer in the community-driven effort.

 


 

Benefitting organizations serve 80,000 people each year in the Quad Cities of western Yavapai County.

Our simple system is built around two kinds of volunteers: food donors and neighborhood coordinators.

Neighborhood coordinators sign up neighbors and friends to be regular food donors, who are given a reusable green bag.

When they go grocery shopping, food donors buy a few nonperishable items, storing them in the green bag.

Every other month – on the second Saturday of even months – food donors place their full bag on their front doorstep for pickup.

Neighborhood coordinators collect the full bags and leave empty ones for next time.

They take the bags to one of our collection sites, where volunteers unload the vehicles, empty the bags, sort the food and load it for distribution to local food banks. Our support team helps at the sites.