Partner Spotlight: Charlie's Produce

By Kaylene Bishop

Charlie’s Produce in Boise has been a Very Important Partner since our partnership started in early 2023. They are a full service produce supply company, supplying over 600,000 pounds of high-quality fresh produce weekly to commercial kitchens and businesses. Their excess food is donated to us, and in an average week, our volunteers distribute over 5,000 pounds of this perfectly good food that supports 21 of our nonprofit partners in Ada and Canyon Counties. These donations reach thousands of community members from toddlers to seniors, and everyone in between. 

We know firsthand how special these Charlie’s Produce donations are to our community. Each week we bring this food to 12 food partner sites in Canyon County and 7 in Ada County. These locations include food pantries, community resource rooms in schools and cultural centers, and residential spaces for folks on a tight budget. At the Caldwell Housing Authority, we witnessed the pure joy in a young mother’s face as she opened up the community fridge to discover organic strawberries – free for her kiddos to enjoy. Another time we brought a plethora of delicious cherry tomatoes to Shoreline Plaza Apartments in Boise and the seniors there were so excited. The reason why many of these moments occur for our food recipients is because of our partnership with Charlie’s Produce. 

So thank you GM Matt Fuxan for working with Rolling Tomato to start this program that provides pallets of food each week. And thanks for piloting a project to deliver a food donation to the McCall Community Center during McCall deliveries. Thanks VJ, Aaron, and everyone on the team who facilitates our work. We appreciate that it takes great collaboration to serve our community in the way you do. Long live our partnership!

Charlie's Produce Boise warehouse manager VJ and RT staff Kaylene