No Borders No Limits Produce Program establishes a home in Rio Rico, Arizona to channel over 50 million pounds of produce to food insecure people each year.

Phoenix, AZ  – The Arizona Food Bank Network (AzFBN), celebrating the 40th anniversary of its incorporation as a nonprofit organization, is pleased to announce the purchase of its warehouse at 13 Calle Cristina in Rio Rico, Arizona, where it had been leasing space to operate key aspects of its “No Borders No Limits Produce Program (NBNL).” 

The purchase was made possible by a low interest loan from the Local Initiatives Service Corporation (LISC) who partnered with the Arizona Community Foundation to provide the organization with the resources needed to close on the 32,000 square foot building that sits on two acres in Santa Cruz County. 

“We are thrilled that we now own the warehouse. Owning a building ensures the work we do every day to provide food banks across Arizona and beyond can get healthy fruits and vegetables, much of which would otherwise be wasted, to families that count on this support,” said April Bradham, President and CEO of AzFBN. “Our programs channel more than 50 million pounds of produce each year to food banks for families that need it most. With this purchase, we can also expand other programs and fully integrate with the larger Rio Rico, Nogales, and Santa Cruz County communities,” Bradham continued. 

“LISC was happy to support this incredibly important initiative at AzFBN,” Terry Benelli, Senior Executive Director of LISC Phoenix said. “This project is a perfect example of how we tie together resources to make projects like this possible, freeing up capital that would have been spent on interest. This means AzFBN can operate sustainably and dedicate more resources to expanding programs that benefit food insecure families.” 

AzFBN has been operating out of the facility since September, 2022, and employes 28 full-time staff members at the location, who channel donated produce loads, coordinate transportation, and repack produce into family friendly mixed produce boxes.  The food that is channeled through the NBNL facility supplies 27 food banks, including St. Mary’s Food Bank, United Food Bank, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, and Yuma Community Food Bank. 

The AzFBN organization headquarters remains in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Contact: Terri Shoemaker, AzFBN Executive Vice President, (602) 299-7976 or [email protected]

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