Introducing Donation at Checkout: Support Feeding Families

There’s a new way to support food access in your community, and it’s as simple as adding a donation to your order.

Many of you know us for your fresh home deliveries, but what some may not realize is that food access is a huge part of our work here at The Produce Box. In 2025, we delivered 29,330 fresh Produce Boxes to local nonprofits for their community food distributions – roughly 343,000 pounds of fresh produce! For reference, that’s enough to pack 34 fully loaded 16-foot box trucks (each one stuffed floor to ceiling with fresh fruits and veggies!)

Each week, our team sources, hand-packs, and delivers fresh produce boxes to non-profit partners like Overflowing Hands and Meals on Wheels Durham. Our drivers unload anywhere from 50-400 boxes at a time at churches, community centers, and parking lots staffed by volunteers with their boots on the ground making sure no kid goes hungry.

We hear from our partners again and again that our fresh produce is the most impactful part of their distributions. Pantries like Community of Hope often source staple items and donations from many different sources, but it’s the fresh fruits and vegetables that bring joy and relief. Kids light up when they see mini watermelons in the summer or pumpkins in the fall. These Produce Boxes help connect our youngest, most vulnerable neighbors to what local eating is all about.

We fund this work through a variety of partnered grants, and now we’re inviting you to join us in a simple, grassroots way that helps us do even more!

“When you’re hungry, all you can think about is that you’re hungry.” - Amy White, Executive Director of Community of Hope

Amy and Community of Hope volunteers at a chilly distribution night, passing out Produce Boxes and other household essentials.

The Produce Boxes that distribution featured local organic collards from Herbie Cottle, organically grown carrots from Community Greens, fresh cabbage from Fresh Pik Farms, and apples from Deal Orchards.

How Donation at Checkout Works

Here’s what to expect with our new Donation at Checkout feature:

✔ Select “Add a Donation”

You’ll find the option to add a donation in your sidebar cart or on the final checkout page. Choose your amount and whether it’s a one-time or recurring donation.

✔ Set up a recurring donation

Choose “Donate With Every Order” to make a weekly contribution. You’ll see a little circular symbol by a recurring donation in your cart (just like a recurring tip). You can edit your recurring amount or remove it anytime from your sidebar cart.

✔ Donate when you plan to skip

If you choose to skip your order, you may be prompted with “Would you like to donate instead?” and the pre-populated amount of your order. This is an amazing way to ensure our farmers still get paid for their harvests, and for that food to go towards our Feeding Families partners!

You’ll always have the option to skip this suggestion and proceed with simply skipping your order without donating.

✔ Donate even when the menu isn't open.. or when you don't have an order in the works!

Want to donate, but not planning on ordering this week? Or do you feel inspired to donate, but the menu isn't open for shopping? Use the floating orange "Donate" button to make a donation at any time. You should see it here, on the bottom right of this blog page!

What Your Donation Makes Possible

Even a small weekly gift creates a ripple of nourishment across our community. Each quarter, we’re going to highlight a different Feeding Families partner doing incredible work in our community. We’ll feature their work, and our members’ impact, on the blog and in newsletters.

While partners may rotate each quarter, here’s some examples of what you can make possible:

$5 per week covers a dozen local eggs for a family of four.
$10 per week helps us purchase produce from a beginning farmer fighting to keep land in production.
$20 per week delivers a fresh, seasonal produce box to a family in our community
$100 sponsors a family for a month of fresh eating

This Quarter’s Spotlight Partner: Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC

We’re beginning this program by fundraising for one of our strongest and longest-standing partners: the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

In 2025 alone, thanks to a grant funded by Wake County, we delivered 16,685+ fresh produce boxes and 10,900+ dozen Latta’s eggs to Food Bank agency partners across the Triangle.

These dollars have supported farms like Black-owned Olusanya LLC, from whom we’ve purchased more than 19,000 pounds of sweet potatoes this year.

Phillip Barker, one of the farmers behind Olusanya LLC.

But the need is growing faster than ever.

The Food Bank is facing a $30+ million shortfall after cuts to local food funding in 2025 — all while 1 in 7 of our neighbors struggles to access enough food.

Your donation at checkout will help provide additional produce boxes to Food Bank partner agencies, supporting both families and the North Carolina farms who feed them.

Some Important Notes

Donations are not tax deductible

Since The Produce Box is not a 501(c)(3), donations collected at checkout are not eligible for tax deduction, and we will not be able to provide a tax deduction receipt. If you'd prefer to donate directly to our non-profit partners to receive tax-deductible status, we encourage you to do so!

Donations at checkout do not count toward order minimums, free delivery, or promotions

Because these gifts go directly to our Feeding Families work, they remain separate from your grocery order.

Join Us in Feeding Families

Next time you shop, add a donation and know that your dollars are becoming nourishment, stability, and community resilience right here at home. We’re grateful to grow this work with you and can’t wait to show you the impact your generosity makes!

Questions about our new donation program? Please reach out at info@theproducebox.com.