Through this year’s Holiday Food Drive, Food Finders aims to support families facing food insecurity as food and household costs rise.

Food Finders, a food rescue organization serving communities across Southern California, is preparing for this year’s Holiday Food Drive to support families struggling with food insecurity.

The organization says this year’s event is especially important because rising food costs and household expenses have taken a toll on local families, particularly those already facing financial difficulties. The Holiday Food Drive relies on support from community members, businesses, and organizations to meet the increased holiday-season need for food.

What Is Food Finders?

Founded in 1989 by Arlene Mercer, Food Finders aims to connect surplus food with its network of nonprofit partners to help feed the community. Though small at first, the organization has grown significantly over the past 20 years—not only in the number of members it serves, but also in its internal capacity and the programs it offers. Food rescue has been their primary focus for many years, but they have since expanded their work to include programs such as Food 4 Kids, Community Marketplace, and Backyard Harvest.

Food Finders says seeing the organization evolve and expand its reach has been especially meaningful, as each new program lets them address different community needs and increase their overall impact.

Accomplishments and Community Impacts

To get an idea of the organization’s reach and impact within their community, according to Food Finders’ 2025 Impact Report, “This year, we rescued 15.6 million pounds of fresh food, providing 13 million meals to children, families, seniors, and students across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.”

Food Finders is unique among food distribution organizations in that it uses a same-day, direct distribution model. Rather than taking donated food to a warehouse for later distribution, they coordinate closely in-house to ensure all donated food reaches partner agencies on the same day it is collected. This is especially important for perishable items, as it lets the organization get fresh, nutritious food to people who need it as quickly as possible.

This model has proven valuable, with the City of Los Alamitos recognizing Food Finders as the City’s Mayor’s Business Spotlight Program in August 2026. The award celebrated Food Finders’ commitment to reducing hunger, eliminating food waste, and improving nutrition throughout Southern California.

Building on these accomplishments, Food Finders plans to continue expanding its efforts to reach more members of the communities it serves. The organization’s current focus is on the growing senior population, which it believes is particularly vulnerable because of limited savings, language barriers, living alone, or not having family nearby to support them.

How to Support Food Finders

Food Finders is seeking donations of non-perishable holiday staples, including gravy and broth, yams, cranberries, stuffing, potatoes, and canned vegetables. Financial contributions can also help provide holiday meal boxes, turkeys, and other essential food items. Holiday food donations can go a long way in helping families meet their basic needs, so they can spend less time worrying about necessities and more time enjoying quality time together.

For businesses/organizations: Interested in hosting a food drive to support our Holiday Food Program? Contact Mark Eden at [email protected] or 562-283-1400 ext. 117.

For the community: Drop off non-perishable food donations at the Food Finders office or any participating Long Beach Public Library.