Isabella María Barrón / Arizona Sonoran News

Every day, tons of fresh produce flow through Nogales on their way to dinner tables across the country, and just as often, straight to the landfill.

While millions of pounds of edible fruits and vegetables are discarded due to cosmetic standards or oversupply, food insecurity remains widespread across Southern Arizona. A Nogales-based nonprofit is working to intercept that waste, redirecting surplus produce from the border’s supply chain into the hands of families who need it most.

Borderlands Produce Rescue intercepts produce that would otherwise be thrown away and redirects it to communities across the region. Between 2023 and 2024, the group rescued more than 39 million pounds of produce and distributed more than 32 million pounds through community events and partnerships with groups in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico, according to its annual report. The report also notes that diverting this food from landfills significantly reduces methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change.

CEO Yolanda Soto, who has led the organization for decades, said the need has only grown.

“Every day we’re rescuing produce,” Soto said. “We’re either waiting for the calls to go pick it up, or we’re searching, looking for it.”

She said the combination of economic pressures and federal policies has increased demand across the communities Borderlands serves.

“The need grows daily by leaps and bounds with the administration that we’re in right now,” Soto said. “So you can imagine how much in need people are.”

Borderlands operates several programs, including its weekly Produce On Wheels Without Waste events, where community members can receive a 70-pound box of assorted fruits and vegetables for a $15 contribution — a fee the organization says is used primarily to cover fuel costs for truck drivers. Soto said the goal has always been to make fresh produce accessible without creating financial barriers.

“Anyone who shows up can get produce. We do ask for a contribution,” she said. “People need to put a value on something in order to value it.”

On a recent Saturday at Highland Free School in Tucson, volunteers assembled hundreds of boxes stacked with cucumbers, bell peppers and squash while a line of cars stretched down the street. Some volunteers directed vehicles through the pickup line, while others moved quickly between pallets, loading boxes into trunks and greeting residents. The scene reflected the scale of each weekend’s work: efficiency, urgency and an unmistakable sense of community.

Overseeing the operation that morning was Oasis, Borderlands’ national ambassador, who travels to sites across the state each week. Her job includes ensuring safety procedures, coordinating volunteers and helping each site run smoothly. She said the work depends entirely on the people who show up to lift, sort and distribute produce.

“We could not do this without our volunteers,” she said.

Oasis explained that although Borderlands distributes millions of pounds of food each year, its internal staff remains small. Much of the organization’s budget goes toward transportation and logistics.

“We picked up 44 tons of pickling cucumbers this week,” Oasis said, pointing to a set of pallets that had arrived earlier in the week. "It’s amazing when you look at the stuff and you’re like, ‘They were going to send this to the landfill?’ It’s kind of sickening when you think about it,” she said.

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The reasons for rejection vary. Oasis said grocery store inspectors may turn away produce if a portion of a shipment appears imperfect, even if the rest is completely edible. Other times, farms simply grow more than stores are willing to purchase.

“We get tens of thousands of pounds of grapes because the grocery stores don’t want to give people a discount,” she explained. “They tell the distributors, ‘We’re not taking them, get rid of them,’ and it’s cheaper to pay to throw it away.”

Among the volunteers working that morning was Jana Martin, who has been volunteering since May. She stood near a line of bright red and green produce boxes and shook her head as she talked about the quantity and quality of the food.

“It’s crazy to think that those are going to be thrown away,” she said.

Martin said the contrast between waste and need is difficult to ignore.

“They’d be filling a landfill, and then there’s people who need to eat,” Martin said.

The produce rescued by Borderlands, she said, often looks identical to what shoppers find in grocery stores. Much of it is high quality and sometimes organic.

“We had organic tomatoes last time,” she said.

Volunteer Dana Rothstein grew up in Nogales, where her father worked in the produce industry. She said most people don’t realize how much food moves through the border community.

“Most people don’t know where their food comes from,” she said. “We’ve become so detached from that.”

She said Nogales plays a larger role in the nation’s produce supply than many residents outside the area recognize.

“And 90% of the produce comes from Nogales in this country,” Rothstein said. “If you’ve had Taco Bell tomatoes anywhere in the country, you’ve eaten tomatoes that come from Nogales.”

Rothstein said volunteering helps reconnect people with the source of their food and shows them how the supply chain works.

“That’s what I love about this,” she said. “It really shows people where their food comes from and where it could end up if we didn’t do something about it.”

As volunteers continued loading produce into cars, the significance of the operation was evident. Borderlands occupies a unique space in the food system, bridging the disconnect between surplus and scarcity. The organization’s work redirects what would be waste into meals, reducing environmental harm and increasing food access in the region.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism. 

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