Previously Funded Grants

Britech Electropolishing, Inc. provides quality metal finishing services throughout the Bay Area. Grant funds will be used to replace single-use plastic shrink wrap and disposable wood pallets with reusable pallets and reusable pallet wraps.

Foodasia International's mission is to provide top-quality Filipino food products to Filipino-American Stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. They provide a large selection of Asian grocery items, meats, seafood, and produce to local grocers and restaurants and sell items in their Oakland grocery store. Grant funds will be used to purchase reusable pallet wraps to transport and store food products from their Oakland warehouse to their store.

Philz Coffee is a coffee roaster retailer with over 50 coffee shops, as well as wholesale and online roasted coffee sales. Building on the success of prior grant funding, new grant funds will be used to purchase another batch of reusable pallets to use within the Philz Coffee Roasting Plant in Oakland.

The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM)’s mission is to educate, inspire, and connect communities, responsible farmers, and producers as part of a healthy, Earth-friendly, equitable local and regional food system. Funds will supply approximately 500 reusable plastic totes to transport fresh produce to Alameda County farmer's markets to eight BIPOC farmers who are enrolled in AIM's racial equity program called the "Incubator Booth". The Incubator Booth program supports beginning BIPOC farmers get established at farmer's markets.

Good Eggs delivers fresh groceries and prepped meals straight to consumers, while supporting and growing local & sustainable food systems. Meals are prepped and prepared at the Good Eggs Kitchen based in Oakland with a second distribution warehouse in Los Angeles. Funds will be used to replace single use pallets and plastic pallet wrap with 70 reusable pallets and 70 reusable pallet wraps for shipments between the Oakland and Los Angeles warehouses, as well as reusable totes for distribution of goods between select vendors and donation partners.

Acta Non Verba (ANV) elevates life in East Oakland by challenging oppressive dynamics and environments through urban farming and creates a safe and creative outdoor space for children, youth, and families, by strengthening their understanding of nutrition, food production, and healthy living and building their ties to the community. ANV’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) connects Oakland homes to small local farmers, currently distributing produce in paper bags to 300+ customers. Funds will be used to replace paper bags with 175 reusable tote bags and 300 reusable crates for CSA distribution. This will eliminate 14,400 single-use paper bags saving 1,746 pounds of waste annually.

Blue Bottle Coffee was founded in Oakland in 2002 with a simple yet revolutionary idea: serve delicious coffee, roasted fresh and brewed to order, sourced from sustainable coffee farms. Funds will be used to purchase four bulk containers to transport coffee beans from their West Sacramento Roastery to the Gilman Brewery. Additionally, 10 reusable pallets will replace limited-use wooden pallets used to move spent coffee grounds. As a result, 5,876 lbs of wood and 700 lbs of plastic will be eliminated per year.

Emerald Packaging is the largest flexible packaging supplier in the country and in the development of new films using post-consumer resin. The project will replace cardboard gaylord boxes, plastic pallet wrap, and wood pallets with reusable collapsible bulk containers to move manufacturing supplies within their production plant.

The Agriculture Institute of Marin (AIM) currently manages seven Certified Farmers Markets in the Bay Area (San Francisco, Alameda, and Marin Counties), a mobile market, and provides hands-on educational programs to thousands of children and adults about the connections between the environment, agriculture, and health. Grant funds will be used to purchase 875 more reusable plastic totes and distribute them to eight new farm participants to transport produce to farmer’s markets in Oakland, Hayward, and Newark. It is estimated that the reusable totes will prevent the purchase, use, and disposal of 6,637 lbs. of cardboard boxes annually with an estimated cost savings of over $6,000/year.

Sankofa Garden is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing community wellness, nutrition, and food access through food growing, education, empowerment and celebration of multicultural heritage. Community green spaces are leveraged to address food security as a basic human right and not denied to our most vulnerable populations. Funds will be used to purchase 250 reusable totes and 4 reusable pallets to transport produce from Worm Whisperer Farm in Sacramento to the Oakland Sankofa Garden residents. It is estimated that the reusable totes and pallets will prevent the purchase, use, and disposal of 13,270 lbs. of cardboard boxes and 640 lbs. of wooden pallets annually with an estimated cost savings of $25,600 per year in avoided waxed cardboard box and pallet purchases.

Biologic Environmental Services & Waste Solutions is an in-County medical waste service provider. Funds will be used to replace cardboard boxes and wooden pallets with 36 reusable plastic totes for transporting medical waste from approximately 700 medical facilities located throughout California, 130 of which are located in Alameda County. The medical waste will be transported in the reusable containers to an incinerator where they are unloaded, then the totes are returned to Biologic to be sanitized for reuse. It is estimated that the reusable totes will prevent the purchase, use, and incineration of 19,440 lbs of cardboard boxes and wooden pallets annually.

Corporate eWaste Solutions is a Hayward based certified electronics reuse and recycling provider. Equipment grant funds will be used to replace limited-use cardboard gaylords, wooden pallets, and plastic wrap with reusable moving carts and pallet wrap to transport electronics from Alameda County clients and e-waste collection events to their Hayward warehouse. The 15 reusable office carts and pallet wraps will prevent the purchase, use, and disposal of roughly 18,180 lbs of cardboard gaylords, wooden pallets, and plastic wrap annually.

Riverdog Farm is a 450 acre certified organic farm located in Capay Valley. Funds will be used to replace waxed cardboard boxes with 1,060 reusable plastic totes to transport produce to Alameda County farm box customers. The reusable totes will prevent the purchase, use, and disposal of approximately 8,750 lbs of waxed cardboard boxes and 52 rolls of butcher paper annually.

BFN's Food Recovery Program is working to close the gap between the number of people in Berkeley experiencing food insecurity and available food-assistance services. They will purchase reusable plastic pallets and totes to replace limited-use wooden pallets and cardboard boxes, temperature controlled food storage equipment (e.g. thermal blankets and hot/cold boxes) to keep recovered food at the proper temperature to prevent edible food from spoiling, and reusable food containers to reduce the use of disposable aluminum trays. These measure will allow the recovery of approximately 200,000 lbs. of edible food each year.

Emerald Packaging has been manufacturing and distributing flexible packaging throughout California and North America for over 50 years. They are replacing the high-density non-recyclable paper cores with 240 reusable plastic cores for transporting film packaging (1 reusable core replaces 20 fiber cores).

Funds used to purchase 20 reusable wraps, 20 reusable pallets, and 50 reusable totes to deliver produce daily from Milpitas to UC Berkeley.

Funds 35 reusable pallet wraps to replace plastic film stretch wrap used on stored pallets in warehouse. The project reduces GU's annual shrink wrap waste by 20%, over 43,000 sq. feet.

Replaced corrugated boxes with reusable plastic cooler boxes and reusable dividers for distribution of food in a CSA program. The reusable containers reduce food and packaging waste, save space and result in a cleaner warehouse.