Cornucopia has GREAT NEWS!

Dedicated to Meeting Community Needs

ARIZONA GIVES DAY is April 3rd!

Please show your support

- donate to help what you believe in!

AZ Gives Day.org

Community = S ociety at Large

Respected and fiercely supported for over 40+ years because of their commitment to improving community spirit and effectiveness, Harvey and Julie Grady founded, almost 20 yrs ago, the nonprofit organization:

Cornucopia Community Advocates .

I recently asked our Board Members why they chose to be on the Cornucopia Board and the resounding response was because Harvey sees a community need and he takes significant action to meet that need. They wanted to be a part of that progress and impact.

Cornucopia is dedicated to meeting emergent community needs by creating or supporting action plans through collaborative, creative development. We then actively engage the community to collectively implement those plans such as our Food Recovery Program which in 7 months, has delivered over 50,000 meals , food that would have been wasted!

Harvey and Cornucopia have successfully assisted in organizing and/or developing countless programs such as Quad Cities & Verde Valley Food Recovery Programs, the Verde Food Council (now the Yavapai Food Council, the first local food policy council in Northern AZ), the MATForce Verde Valley Steering Committee, Sedona-Oak Creek Restorative Justice Partnership, Verde Valley Primary Care Planning Committee, Verde Valley Seniors in Action Coalition, City of Sedona Youth Commission, Kids Piggy Bank program , Sedona-Oak Creek Restorative Justice, the Youth Count in developing a Youth Development Plan for Sedona, Clarkdale and Beaver Creek and so very much more (not enough space to list them all)!

We also continue to provide referred Emergency Financial Aid assistance to folks like veteran Michael H. who has a job and goes to school but business became so slow he just needed a bit of help keeping his electric service on or Cathy B. who lost income due to a medical issue that required surgery and needed temporary rental assistance we were grateful to be able to provide.

These programs have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of children, veterans, seniors, adults, the disabled, those who simply needed community to help and with your support we've been there for over 20+ years and still going strong.

Because folks like you care enough to support your community and Cornucopia...

you have our endless gratitude!

Donna L. Busse

Director of Development

Please invest in your community and support Cornucopia today!

Please Donate Today!

Please Volunteer Today!

Featured Focus:

Food Insecurity and Food Recovery

Can you hear the rumble of their empty stomachs?

Together we can transform that sad sound to sighs of relief and contentment . Cornucopia's Food Recovery Program was launched in 2017 to address the growing levels of food insecurity and food waste in Yavapai County. The Program has successfully distributed over 50,000 meals while diverting over 60,000 lbs of food headed for the landfill. There has been an inspiring response to Cornucopia's Food Recovery Program and you might just want to join in too.

SNAP Program preparing for severely REDUCED budget cuts.

Local Impact

These planned budget cuts to SNAP will harm current SNAP participants by plunging them into greater financial insecurity. Where will they find the food they need?...

SURVEY of all 60+ Yavapai County Emergency Food Providers on readiness for budget cuts

Are they prepared?

The results of this survey initiative, implemented by Harvey Grady, founder and President of Cornucopia Community Advocates, is encouraging as just about every Emergency Food Provider is willing to attend community meetings to create a plan to...

MYTH:

Food waste and hunger are different problems with different solutions.

FACT:

By reducing food waste, we can also help reduce hunger. Seventy-two billion pounds of good food goes to waste each year in America, while at the same time, 41 million people struggle with hunger. Cornucopia Community Advocates connect food companies, farmers and other generous partners with Emergency Food Providers to rescue tens of thousands of pounds of food each year in Yavapai County. We believe that rescuing food from going to waste is critical to solving the hunger problem in our county...

Please Donate Today

Our Volunteers said......and we are GRATEFUL !

"I have chosen to volunteer and support Cornucopia and the Food Recovery Project because I feel it is important to help people in need. This program helps to get food to people who need it." - Leslie G.

"I work with folks every day that have food insecurity issues and I see first hand how it affects their health and their lives. I would like to do something to help. Which is why I have chosen to volunteer and support Cornucopia and our Food Recovery Project." - Rita Carey

"I volunteer because food "waste" can and should be recovered to assist the hungry in Prescott AND because of the significant link between food waste and its impact on climate change. And I volunteer because of my faith calling me to action." - Patrick Grady

"I have chosen to volunteer & help with the Food Recovery project (QCFR) because I know that their are SO many people in our area in need of food/nourishment & their is SO much waste in our system. In the short time I have been involved in the program, I was so encouraged at the huge turn out of local citizens to the movie “Just Eat It” at the Prescott library on a Sunny Sunday afternoon! That’s inspiring, that there are so many willing humans in our very midst!

It takes a Village!" - Paula Clark

Volunteer Today

A Note from Harvey Grady...

Thank you for your support of Cornucopia’s Food Recovery Program!

You have made our Food Recovery pilot project a resounding success! It offers a model program for rural food rescue that other rural communities can adopt. America wastes 40% of the food it produces, and most of that food can be rescued and provided to local food banks and programs that feed the hungry .

In eight months, we have furnished over 51,000 meals to those who feed the hungry in the Quad City area and the Verde Valley . You have made that possible.

Food Recovery not only provides more food to feed the hungry but also addresses the environmental need to reduce the amount of food in landfills. Rotting food produces dangerous greenhouse gases like methane that rise into the atmosphere from landfills. It also bursts into fires through spontaneous combustion and those fires in landfills often cannot be put out.

A recent world plan for countering global warming called Drawdown , ranks food recovery as the third highest priority action for reducing global warming. In eight months, we have diverted more than 72,000 pounds of inedible food from the landfill of which 12,000 pounds has been delivered to community compost piles. You have made that possible.

Achieving Program Sustainability

In those eight months, our two part-time Food Recovery Coordinators have just begun to tap the generosity of our communities. Their work has been supported by grants, yet Cornucopia needs to sustain and expand those programs with donations so that they do not disappear.

We are developing a community service business to generate ongoing revenue to sustain Cornucopia and its successful food recovery programs. Our plans involve: 1) Selecting a business model; 2) Creating a business plan; and 3) Obtaining start-up funding.

We’re considering establishing a food hub to aid Verde Valley farmers and ranchers in getting their fresh produce to grocery stores and restaurants. That business model might be augmented by adding a Thrift Grocery Store based on the Daily Table model established by the founder of Trader Joe’s. We can also use the building for food recovery. It will likely take two years to establish this business model.

We also have an immediate need for two vans to transport rescued food in the Quad City area and the Verde Valley. Please consider how you might help us accomplish these goals.

Thanks to funders: SEDI (Sustainability Economic Development Initiative), Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County, The NARBHA Institute, and United Way of Yavapai County for their grant support.

Thank you! Harvey Grady

Thank you to our Sponsors!