Food Forward’s Electrification Journey

December 2024

The Why

As a leader in food recovery, Food Forward’s impact is not just the amount of surplus fresh produce we are able to move to people experiencing food insecurity. Our impact is also quantifiable in the amount of emissions Food Forward is able to prevent each year by keeping that fresh food from entering the waste stream; in 2024 alone, Food Forward’s food recovery mission will prevent the emissions of 80,100 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

Food Forward is also committed to making progress on moving to net zero operational emissions and reducing its own climate impact. A 2021 study of our operations showed that 58% of Food Forward’s total greenhouse gas emissions are from transportation, primarily our very own vehicles. So what better way to move towards net zero operations, than purchasing an electric semi-truck?

And thus, in 2023, seed funding enabled us to purchase a 6×2 Electric Volvo VNR in December 2023.

By opting to purchase this electric semi-truck capable of towing a 53’ trailer instead of purchasing another diesel-powered truck, we simultaneously increased our capacity, accelerated our efficiency, and improved our carbon footprint. For instance, the semi-truck allows us to transport double the produce volume (more than 30,000 pounds, or 20 pallets) than our 26’ diesel trucks can in one load. Additional funding was later secured for the trailer, refrigeration unit for the trailer, and charging system.

This semi-truck is Food Forward’s largest investment to date in exploring the electrification of our fleet. (Our first electric van serving our volunteer-powered gleaning program was purchased in 2023 and has been serving our needs well.) As resources allow, Food Forward plans to continue to explore opportunities to convert the rest of its fleet to electric as our vehicles reach their expiration. Continuing to reduce the climate impact of our operations aligns well with our mission, as so many of the communities we serve are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We hope that our lessons to date about this journey to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions will provide a model for electrification possibilities in the food recovery and distribution ecosystem.

Benefits

Climate Impact:
- Purchasing an electric semi-truck instead of a diesel-powered box truck will prevent 23 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually.
Recovery Volume and Efficiency:
- The new electric vehicle helped Food Forward exceed our goal of recovering 88 million pounds of fresh produce in 2024.
- The electric semi-truck’s refrigerated trailer provides additional temporary produce storage, particularly in summer months when Food Forward’s daily average of produce recovered exceeds 300,000 pounds.
- The added recovery capacity will save resources including staff time and vehicle wear. Also, Food Forward regularly uses third-party haulers to recover or distribute large hauls. The new capacity of the semi-truck is now increasing transportation efficiency with those partners; since third-party haulers can recover produce from farther distances than the electric semi-truck can due to charging capacity, those third-party trips are focused on distance, while Food Forward’s electric semi-truck is recovering more produce more efficiently from sources closer to its warehouse, hauling larger loads and reducing short-distance trips.

Key Considerations

Electric Semi-Truck: The purchase of this new technology required a period of needs assessment, including extensive research to clarify the specifications our operation needed and the truck options available on the market. We gathered insights about electric vehicle options and infrastructure from trusted Food Forward advisors with expertise in electric vehicles, electrical engineering, and logistics. We also sought consultation on infrastructure considerations and input from partners in the produce industry on fleet electrification. Four electric semi-truck manufacturers were carefully considered before choosing to purchase the Volvo VNR Electric 6×2 Tractor in December 2023. These prospects included well-established manufacturers and start-ups. We found that the Volvo VNR Electric 6×2 Tractor had a higher electric range than competitors, with a 55-kilowatt battery with a range of 175-250 miles on a single charge. It was also $50,000 to $100,000 less expensive than similar options, with great referrals from other buyers. Typically, buyers wait a year or more to receive an electric vehicle of this class level, but we received the vehicle within two months of our order thanks to an oversupply and our positive relationship with the vendor. Other important specifications included the warranty and maintenance offerings, and the ability to install safety cameras.

Trailer and refrigeration unit: Given that Food Forward is moving fresh fruits and vegetables, the refrigeration capacity of the new vehicle was a crucial element in the functionality of the vehicle. We chose a vendor that met our required specifications and offered pre-assembled equipment, reducing unanticipated rental costs and eliminating assembly time.

Charging: In deciding what type of charger to purchase, Food Forward considered cost and flexibility. Flexibility was especially important since the warehouse where the electric vehicle is housed is under a lease. As such, we decided to pursue a mobile charging option to reduce permanent equipment and infrastructure expenses.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

As with adjusting to any new technology, the biggest challenge so far has been dealing with software issues rather than the more traditional mechanical issues we may face with our fleet. Having a working fleet outside of the electric vehicle enabled us to continue to recover and distribute millions of pounds of produce at our warehouse each week while dealing with software issues. In these early days of adaptation of this new technology for the sector, it was fortunate we were not wholly reliant on this one solution.

Additionally, the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles can be expensive and time-consuming to install and permit. In some cases, the minimum charger install period is six to nine months. With this in mind, the Food Forward team decided to use a mobile charging solution that did not require an electric build and could charge the semi-truck at night so there would be limited daytime disruption in service.

Another top consideration for others considering electrification is the distance and battery life needed for operations. Although the charging time of the mobile charging solution we chose is longer than alternative options, we have been able to design operations to only require the electric semi-truck to take trips that do not exceed 60 miles in a day (with the truck’s volume, this is still much-improved efficiency in the volume of produce we can recover). If, in the future, we plan to use this semi-truck to cover farther distances or if we move from our leased warehouse, we have the flexibility to reevaluate the charging option that best meets our needs.

As we continue to improve Food Forward’s climate impact and move towards net zero operations, adding the electric semi-truck was a crucial step. We hope that we can share our insights and takeaways with others and serve as a model for electrification in the food recovery and distribution space. Please contact Amir Zambrano, Food Forward’s Managing Director of the Wholesale Recovery Program, at [email protected] for more information.