PHOENIX — If you’re looking for a way to get the most bang for your buck when buying fresh produce, you’re going to want to check these Produce on Wheels Without Waste (P.O.W.W.O.W.) events! You can get up to 70 pounds of fresh produce with a required $15 contribution.
WHAT’S THE CATCH?
According to Yolanda Soto, CEO of Borderlands Food Bank, the catch is that Arizonans are being educated to curb food waste and eat nutritiously.
“Naturally people think 70 pounds, that’s way too much for me… but that’s what we’re trying to do, pay it forward — meet your neighbor that you’ve never met by taking a batch of tomatoes. So [many ways] of helping others,” said Soto.
WHERE TO GO:
The 9th season of P.O.W.W.O.W. takes place on Saturday mornings across the Valley from January to August. Anyone can attend these events, the only thing required is a $15 donation.
Below is a PDF that showcases the P.O.W.W.O.W. hours and location stops across the Valley; some stops even accept DoorDash orders as well as being able to reserve a box ahead of pulling up into the location.
HOW’S THIS POSSIBLE?
“Produce on Wheels Without Waste” is a program of Borderlands Produce Rescue which is a nonprofit organization based in Nogales, Arizona.
According to Soto, the produce at these markets was “rescued” from a distribution warehouse in southern Arizona.
“Naturally it’s a consumer-driven market, so maybe the month of May, consumers don’t want eggplant. There’s all this eggplant that’s sitting that wasn’t sold, so we rescue [the produce] from the distribution warehouse,” said Soto in an interview with ABC15 in 2022.
