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A Coordination System for Communities That Already Have the Resources—but Lack the Structure
The Tree of New America builds and deploys it's Sustainability Ecosystem platform to organize food recovery, workforce activity, and housing support into a unified, scalable system. This is not a new program. It is a coordination layer—designed to connect what already exists and make it work as infrastructure. Built through real-world deployment across community, housing, and retail environments, the system transforms fragmented efforts into consistent, trackable outcomes. [Background visual or short loop from Tree construction video] [CTA: Explore the System | Experience the Tree | Get Involved]
The Problem Isn’t Supply—It’s Coordination
Across communities, the resources to address food insecurity already exist. Retailers generate surplus, organizations distribute food, and people step forward to help. Yet these efforts operate in isolation—resulting in missed recovery, inconsistent delivery, and limited reach. The challenge is not a lack of supply. It is a lack of structure. Without coordination, even strong efforts fail to scale.
A System That Connects What Already Exists
The Tree of New America Sustainability Ecosystem platform introduces structure where there is fragmentation. It coordinates food recovery from retail sources, organizes workforce activity across partners, and connects distribution directly to individuals and communities—especially those facing transportation and access barriers. By aligning these moving parts into a single system, the Tree of New America Sustainability Ecosystem platform enables daily operation, real-time visibility, and scalable expansion across regions. At its core, the system follows a simple logic: recover resources, coordinate activity, deliver impact—consistently and at scale.
See the System in Operation
[Explainer video] This is not a concept. It is a working system—linking retail partners, community organizations, and housing environments into a coordinated process that operates in real time.
Making the System Physically Visible
The Tree of New America is a real, physical structure currently being developed as a public-facing installation. It serves as the experiential interface of the Tree of New America Sustainability Ecosystem Platform—designed to make coordination visible by showing how resources move, how people participate, and how impact is created across the system.
This is not a symbolic concept or static artwork. It is an evolving build—growing over time through participation and aligned with the expansion of the ecosystem it represents. As the system scales, the Tree develops alongside it, capturing the movement, contribution, and connection that define coordinated activity.
The Tree functions as both a public engagement platform and a forward-facing representation of the system—used to communicate the model, attract partners, and demonstrate how coordinated infrastructure operates in real-world environments.
[Tree construction visual or clip]
[CTA: Experience the Tree]
A System Designed for Public, Private, and Community Alignment
This system is built to operate across sectors. Counties and government agencies gain a scalable model for coordination and compliance. Retail partners gain reliable recovery pathways and reduced operational burden. Community organizations operate within a structured system that expands their reach and effectiveness. Funders and stakeholders engage with a model designed for measurable, multi-region deployment. Each participant operates within a defined role—connected through a shared system.
Built Through Real-World Application
This work is grounded in active environments across Orange County, where food recovery, distribution, and housing support are already being coordinated. Through partnerships with community organizations, housing providers, and retail contributors, the system has been tested under real conditions—demonstrating both operational capability and the need for a structured approach to scale. [Optional short distribution clip]
Understanding the Human Layer of the System
Systems operate through people. Behind every delivery, every recovery, and every data point are individuals navigating real circumstances—often shaped by barriers that are not immediately visible. Coordination allows systems to meet people where they are, transforming isolated effort into consistent support. [Short Melissa clip]
Be Part of the System
This is a system designed for participation. Whether you are a public agency, a private partner, a community organization, or an individual looking to contribute, there is a defined role within the structure. Tree of New America provides the coordination layer—participation activates it. [CTA: Explore the System | Experience the Tree | Get Involved]
Our food sustainability origins
Our first Food Rescue and Mobile Pop-Up food pantry events launched in March 2025. On June 4, 2025, we hosted our first community Tabletop Pop-Up cooking event. Working alongside our coalition partners, we identify and address food-access gaps across our communities and take coordinated action to put food sustainability in motion—while creating pathways for workforce development through hands-on community engagement. The following data captures our coalition’s measurable impact—tracking how recovered food, volunteer effort, workforce participation, and coordinated services translate into real support for individuals, families, and long-term community sustainability.
Data Summary of
LBS of Food Rescued & Delivered
TONA
01/25 - 12/25
38,230 LBS
MKP+SHO
01/26 - 03/26
175,000 LBS
Data Summary of
Families Who Have Received Food
TONA
01/25 - 12/25
678
MKP
01/26 - 03/26
12,420
Data Summary of
Total Individuals Who Have Received Food
TONA
01/25 - 12/25
MKP+SHO
01/26 - 03/26
2583
55,890
Data Summary of
Recorded Volunteer Hours
TONA
01/25 - 12/25
4,080 Hours
MKP
01/26 - 03/26
6532 Hours
Data Summary of
Workforce Development Enrollments
TONA
01/25 - 12/25
2
MKP
01/26 - 03/26
12
Data Summary of
Workforce Housing Referals
TONA
01/25 - 12/25
MKP
01/25 - 03/26
0
2
To learn how you can help, get involved, or if you need food, click a link below.
We learn about community outreach with Melissa as she steps outside her comfort zone to follow four formerly unhoused individuals, uncovering their stories and the lessons they share about trust, hope, and what it takes to care for a village.
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Documentary Trailer
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Full Documentary
- Give Today -
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"Your gift brings food and care to people & their pets in need."
- To address mental health & wellness through nutrition in underserved communities we need your help.
- With your help we can rescue more food.
- With your help we can deliver more Mobile-PopUp food pantries to more underserved communities.
- With your help we can deliver more TableTop-PopUp cooking events to more underserved communities.
- Together we will be making a difference.
- Together, we are building the Tree of New America as a shared learning platform rooted in care, participation, and food access.
Our work in action
Tree of New America works at the intersection of food access, sustainability, and care—combining direct service with shared learning that strengthens trust in community.
How the Tree of New America Operates Within a Broader Community Context
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In this video, we demonstrate how Tree of New America coordinates impact across food rescue, distribution, and community support systems.
A Tree of New America Mobile-PopUp Food Pantry Event
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In this video we showcase a weekly scheduled Mobile-PopUp food pantry event that gets rescued food to folks who need it.
Our mission
TONA addresses the critical link between mental health and nutrition found within our most vulnerable of communities. Our mission is to combat food insecurity, ensuring folks have consistent equitable access to nutritious food while fostering improved mental and physical well-being.
Our process
We identify needs and facilitate solutions by working directly with our PSH and TSH partners to address food insecurity among vulnerable members of our community. Many face transportation barriers that make accessing food a challenge. By collaborating directly with housing resource managers, we can develop customized strategies tailored to each housing community’s unique situation.
Our core strategy & alignment with key legislations
- At the heart of TONA's operation is a strategic connection. TONA's facilitation model ensures that permanent and temporary supportive housing communities facing food insecurity receive reliable and high-quality nutritional support. This collaborative approach is the foundation of our program's success.
- Driven by California's Senate Bill 1383, TONA prioritizes the recovery of edible food. This crucial legislation guides our partnerships with food recovery organizations, ensuring a consistent flow of nutritious food to support the well-being of residents within supportive housing communities.
- Furthermore, we recognize the importance of California's Senate Bill 1380 and its Housing First approach. By providing consistent access to nutritious food, TONA supports the foundational stability that this approach aims to achieve. Food security is a critical component of overall well-being, and our services directly contribute to creating a supportive environment for residents as they establish stable housing.
- We are doing our part to achieve net-zero emissions by 2035 through a comprehensive sustainability strategy, focusing on reducing our carbon footprint across all operations and implementing environmentally conscious practices.
If you are the manager of a permanent or temporary supportive housing property whose residents are experiencing food insecurity, we can help!
With support from the Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, the Tree of New America is
one of three nonprofit organizations that form the Community Food Support Coalition, OC.
Three Nonprofits, One Mission