Let us be an extension of your food sourcing department.

Our mission at Fresh Connect Central is to help all food banks and similar food distribution partners access fresh produce, protein, dairy, and more at the lowest possible prices. We understand there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to food sourcing, so we designed our model to provide flexibility and the highest level of customer service. We allow our food bank partners to customize each order, including the exact number of pallets, types of varieties, and delivery frequency desired. Food banks are never required to commit to annual volumes, and can instead place orders when it makes sense, and pause orders when it does not. Whatever your situation may be, we want to work with you to create a customizable solution for your sourcing needs.

How it Works

Call/text/email us about your sourcing needs to be added to our mailing list.

Browse our offerings through our e-commerce portal. Need a login? Let us know!

Select a live order or plan for up to 60 days out!

Please note: We try to always have extra inventory on hand for last-minute needs and can tailor our offerings to your needs. Questions? Contact John Nieman!

Why Work with Fresh Connect Central?

  • Our number one priority is ensuring that we are taking care of any food bank partner that reaches out to us. We have a dedicated team that will respond to your inquiry immediately and efficiently. We pride ourselves on offering best-in-class customer service. We can take requests for new orders today and turn around and ship it the as early as the next day.

  • Fresh Connect Central’s model was built around letting food banks make decisions that work best for their operation. We offer 100% full customization on every single order. Pick the exact number of pallets you want and the exact varieties you want. No food bank is forced to take any product that they don’t need or want to pay for. There are no membership fees or requirements for ordering at any regular frequency – just order when you need to.

  • Many food banks struggle to handle full truckloads of any one single item due to space constraints or distribution limitations. Fresh Connect Central can purchase as many as 30-40 truckloads of various products every week to allow food banks to have a large, rotating variety to pick from, while still getting a favorable price by not paying LTL rates. Let us handle the heavy lifting for your food bank and reach out to us for planned loads, full truckloads directly from the grower, and any last minute needs that require a quick turnaround.

  • Part of our mission is to develop trusting relationships with growers, wholesalers, and other network partners to coordinate the logistics around rescuing agri-food products so that you don’t have to. By lifting this burden of sourcing fresh products from food banks, this frees up staff time and resources to focus on other tasks.

John Nieman
Engagement Manager
jnieman@freshconnectcentral.org
617-688-4753

Our Partners

  • “Fresh Connect Central is one of Hoosier Hills Food Bank’s most valued and important partners. Whether it is custom boxes built for specific senior programs or fresh products on a regular basis for our ongoing distributions or a last-minute need for produce or protein, they are always there for us.”

    Julio Alonso, Executive Director
    Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Bloomington, IN

  • "Fresh Connect Central provides a highly valuable service shipping mixed truckloads of fresh produce, dairy, and shell eggs for us. One-stop shopping frees up our food-sourcing team to work on other tasks, and our agencies greatly appreciate the wide variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year. The crew at Fresh Connect takes customer service seriously, staying flexible and responsive to our ever-changing needs. They stand behind their quality and don't hesitate to go the extra mile or make last-minute changes to ensure we get just what we need. We're extremely grateful for this partnership."

    John Reed, Director of Warehouse Operations
    Food Gatherers, Ann Arbor, MI

  • “Fresh Connect Central has been an amazing partner to work with! We generally order about 3 loads of mixed produce monthly, and I always get very excited to see the variety and pricing they offer. The experience is made even better by the Fresh Connect team, they are so quick to reply, friendly and they are really looking out for everyone’s best interest. I am so lucky to get to work with them. Our staff, agencies, and neighbors are forever thankful.”

    Kristina Ortiz, Purchasing and Agriculture Food Sourcing Coordinator
    Care and Share Food Bank, Colorado Springs, CO

  • “As a nonprofit food bank, the Greater Chicago Food Depository has an imperative to source healthy, high-quality produce for our neighbors at risk of food insecurity. We also must be good stewards of our limited resources. Fresh Connect helps us deliver on those fronts. The quality of their product is consistently great, the pricing is competitive and the Fresh Connect team provides excellent customer service.”

    Michael McFaul, Senior Director Procurement
    Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago, IL