OUR FOOD

As the largest food bank in New Mexico and the only member of Feeding America, Roadrunner® Food Bank collects, sorts, stores and distributes hundreds of pounds of food each week for our hungry neighbors. Much of our food comes from food industry partners that engage in food rescue to capture unwanted or unsaleable food items. Our food source partners help us feed 70,000 New Mexicans every week.

Roadrunner Food Bank receives donated food from a variety of sources, including:

  • Grocery stores
  • Food Manufacturers
  • Food Distributors
  • Wholesale Clubs
  • Entertainment venues
  • Growers, gardeners and farmers
  • Sharing food resources via  food cooperative network with other participating food banks in the U.S.
  • Community hosted food drives

Food rescue allows us to keep unused food from ending up in landfills while providing nutritious food to those in need in New Mexico. In fact, 75% of the food we provide to our members partner agencies comes to the food bank through food rescue. All of the food that we rescue is held to high safety standards, in terms of its quality as well as how it is handled, so that we can ensure people experiencing hunger in our communities receive the best possible food for themselves and their families.

We also accept donations of food from individuals and corporations that hold food drives on our behalf throughout the year.  Food drives can be held by anyone, anytime of year. The community held food drives hosted by outside organizations and groups provide additional food resources for our member partner agencies to distribute to the hungry.

Providing Safe and Nutritious Food

Providing quality food to people experiencing hunger in our state is very important to us.  To ensure that the food we provide is handled in a safe manner, we follow food safety guidelines from Feeding America, the USDA and others in the food industry. We work hard to ensure that all the food we receive is handled with care and to food safety guidelines.  Key staff are trained in proper food safety procedures some of which include:

  • Ensuring food is transported at proper temperatures, inspected regularly
  • Check product dates on food items as well as examining product packing to ensure it meet standards
  • Inspecting perishable items for spoilage, mold, and contamination
  • Participating and communicating with our member partners about food product recalls
  • Following USDA, AIB, Feeding America, City of Albuquerque and other food safety handling guidelines.

Food safety is a top priority to provide the highest quality food possible especially when so much of it is second or third market food items, or items nearing the end of their usefulness.

Learn more about some our food sources below.