15 May 22nd-May 28th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Fresh for Less This Arizona nonprofit rescues produce and offers deep discounts. BY SARA CROCKER I n the wee hours of Saturday morning, a Scottsdale parking lot is alive with activity. It’s not revelers from nearby Old Town. Instead, some 20 volun- teers have assembled at FBCScottsdale before the sun is up, pulling plump red tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, verdant green Anaheim chiles and summer squash from large pallets and packing the produce efficiently into smaller cardboard boxes. They work quickly to ensure they’re ready for the line of eager shoppers pulling up to purchase these hefty packages in exchange for a donation to Borderlands Produce Rescue. The nonprofit saves fruit and vegetables from landfills while providing an affordable way to buy fresh food. Volunteer Marietta Strano leans over and asks the time. It’s 6:45 a.m., 15 minutes before the nonprofit’s drive-thru market technically begins, but a line of cars is forming on Osborn Road. The group is ready, so they begin waving people through. “We’re already pumping,” she says. Borderlands Produce Rescue founder Yolanda Soto says she’s noticed growing demand for the markets, this year in partic- ular. This comes amid the rising cost of living in the Valley. Grocery bills, in partic- ular, are eating into Phoenicians’ budgets. In the last five years, Valley shoppers have seen food prices increase more than 27%, according to the Consumer Price Index, which tracks costs over time. Some of those hikes were driven by supply chain issues and bird flu. While there’s been relief on those fronts, the uncertainty in the economy over tariffs and inflation continues. “Things are getting expensive now, that’s just the reality of it,” Adam Mijares says. “Groceries, they’re not what they were a few years ago.” Mijares was among the shoppers who rose early on the weekend to visit the Borderlands market. For $15, Mijares received 70 pounds of fruits and vegeta- bles. Borderlands is “definitely more affordable” than the store, Mijares says, making it worth the drive from his home in Chandler. This weekend, he scored two repur- posed produce boxes brimming with onions, peppers, tomatoes, several kinds of squash, Brussels sprouts and parsley. ‘The best kept secret in town’ Borderlands started in Nogales nearly 30 years ago. Its founder grew up along the southern border and saw the sheer volume of fruits and vegetables that were grown in Mexico and brought into the United States through the Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry – more than 60% of North America’s winter produce, according to Borderlands. Soto also witnessed the waste. Sometimes, a shipment of tomatoes doesn’t meet the cosmetic standards for grocery store displays. Demand may be down for squash. Whatever the case, about 5-8% of that imported produce doesn’t sell. Much of it goes to waste. That’s where Borderlands comes in. Since 1996, the nonprofit has rescued 900 million pounds of produce from distributors. These rescued fruits and veggies are shared in several ways, including through the Produce on Wheels With-Out Waste, or POWWOW, markets, which have been running for 11 years. On Saturday mornings between November and June, Borderlands hosts at least six drive-thru markets statewide, with several around the Valley. That includes the Scottsdale market, which pops up at the FBCScottsdale church lot monthly. Each site is manned by 20 to 30 volun- teers who sort and package produce and keep traffic moving. When the POWWOWs began, they were set up like farmers’ markets where people could pick their produce. That option remains at a small number of sites, including one in Glendale. The majority of markets are a drive-thru model with pre-packed boxes — a “trunk-to-truck” pivot from the pandemic that stuck. “People prefer it,” Soto says. “It’s faster.” People can wait in line and pay $15 cash on the spot or $20 to reserve their produce online. The fee is a donation that covers the organization’s costs to store and move the produce. Smaller 25-pound produce boxes are available at some locations, too. Those must be secured online and are delivered by DoorDash. That value made it Phoenix New Times’ Best Community Food Resource in 2024. Affordable produce in this economy? It’s possible at drive-thru markets run by Borderlands Produce Rescue. (Jacob Tyler Dunn) Volunteers stock boxes with up to 70 pounds of produce. (Jacob Tyler Dunn) Each week, the selection of produce available rotates, meaning shoppers always have something new to try. (Jacob Tyler Dunn) >> p 16 ▼ Food & Drink
