Grantee Spotlight - Community Impact Lab

StopWaste is currently supporting four Alameda County non-profits through its Community Outreach Grant program to activate their communities to reduce wasted food. Among this year’s grantees is San Leandro-based nonprofit Community Impact Lab, a diverse group of over 750 families that empowers its members to tackle social, economic, and educational disparities in their communities through monthly dinners, workshops, donation events, and more. 

With this grant, Community Impact Lab is now focused on building awareness and engagement in reducing wasted food by enlisting its members to take the six-week Stop Food Waste Challenge. Within four days, 40 people had signed up, and they are now spreading the word about how to reduce wasted food across their active social media channels and through their events and workshops. 

Community Impact Lab began when founder and then new mom, Xouhoa Bowen, was struggling to figure out how to give back to her community, and particularly to women in need. She realized that many moms and parents felt the same, and gathered a small dinner group to cook food for local women’s shelters. The idea quickly grew, and today, the group has cooked over 1,400 meals and has reached thousands of families in need in the Bay Area. They have collected $200,000 in goods to help families, and partner with 40 nonprofits to deliver car seats, Lift Me Up boxes to homeless women and kids, victims of human trafficking and violence, and other vulnerable populations.

Learn more about Community Impact Lab and how to get involved.