Gary Maxworthy

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Gary Maxworthy, who was awarded The Purpose Prize in 2007, has been honored with a Jefferson Award, the “Nobel Prize of Public Service,” for creating a San Francisco Food Bank initiative that distributes 80 million pounds of produce to California’s 3 million residents at risk of hunger.

Maxworthy is one of 15 winners of this year's Jefferson Award, a national recognition program that honors community and public service in America.

His Farm to Family program accounted for 21 percent of the produce distribution in the state, delivering nearly 17 million pounds during 2009. It connects California food growers and packers to food banks, distributing fresh fruits and vegetables which aren’t considered marketable, due to small imperfections, but are still delicious and healthy to eat. In the past, this surplus produce was ploughed under, fed to animals or dumped in landfills.

Maxworthy had 32 years of business experience in food brokerage when his wife died from cancer and he took a step back to evaluate his life. He retired and joined the staff of the San Francisco Food Bank as an AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteer in 1994. He serves on the Food Bank board and is committed to expanding the organization's reach and volume.

“It is a great honor to receive the national Jefferson Award for my work with Farm to Family,” Maxworthy said. “I hope this program can serve as an example, helping other agricultural states divert healthy produce that might otherwise end up in landfills, to feed the millions in our country who are going hungry.”

Read more about Gary Maxworthy.

Read the press release about Maxworthy's Jefferson Award.