As families across Arizona prepare their Thanksgiving tables, Borderlands Produce Rescue is marking nearly three decades of ensuring that nutritious fruits and vegetables don’t end up in the landfill, but instead reach households that need them most.
Founded in 1996 by longtime Nogales resident Yolanda Soto, the nonprofit has grown from a small food bank operation into a regional force in food-waste prevention. Each year, Borderlands rescues 20 million to 30 million pounds of produce, food that would otherwise be discarded largely for cosmetic reasons or market oversupply, and redistributes it through programs including its well-known Produce on Wheels Without Waste weekend events.
“I was very aware of the produce industry and how much product was actually being wasted,” Soto said. Growing up in Ambos Nogales, a port where 60% of all winter produce consumed in the U.S. passes through, she saw firsthand how edible fruits and vegetables were routinely dumped despite being “completely healthy and edible.”
