FAQs

Breedlove is a commercial-sized nonprofit food processor dedicated to humanitarian aid.

Breedlove develops and produces domestic and international food products with the help of our in-house food scientist, quality assurance team, and production team. We then ship our food to areas of need including hunger-stricken communities around the globe, areas affected by natural disaster or war, and other areas (including local U.S. communities) where people are experiencing hunger or food shortage.

Breedlove was founded by Mary Louise Breedlove Kingsbery, former South Plains Food Bank (SPFB) board member. Her original vision for Breedlove was to utilize fruits and vegetables donated to the SPFB and dehydrate them. We began to broaden our mission internationally when we produced and provided food relief to a faith-based organization working in North Korea in 1997.

Breedlove’s ribbon cutting was in 1993, and operations officially began in 1994.

Breedlove serves food-insecure communities in the United States and in more than 70 countries around the world.

Yes. Breedlove is a 501(c) corporation, and is wholly non-profit. This also means that any donations you make to Breedlove are tax-deductible.

We receive funds from grants, individual/corporate donations, and client partnerships.

Domestic efforts: We work with domestic partners such as the South Plains Food Bank by providing our products to aid various food programs (ex: SPFB Mobile Pantry).   International efforts: We work with international partners such as USAID, SERV International, CitiHope, and others. Through our partnerships, we are able to meet hunger needs caused by natural or man-made disasters as well as aid hungry people through various feeding programs.

During the early 1990s, the SPFB received bulk loads of donated vegetables from area growers due to cosmetic defects or poor market conditions. The SPFB could only use a small percentage of the food due to its short shelf life and lack of storage capacity. As a result, community leaders agreed on the concept of building a nonprofit dehydration plant to process and make the food shelf-stable for later distribution. In 1994, Breedlove, the first commercial-sized not-for-profit food processing plant in the world, was completed entirely with local community donations. After Breedlove saw a growing need for international humanitarian relief, in 2008, Breedlove officially became its own entity - separate from the SPFB. Today, we are current partners with the SPFB and work together to end hunger within various communities in and around Lubbock, Texas through the SPFB’s various food programs.

In 1992, Breedlove received a donation of the Litton Industries building (Litton Industries built navigation, communications, and electronic equipment). In 1993, Breedlove held its ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially opening the facility. Then, in 1994, Breedlove’s operations officially began.

All donations go into restrictive funds that are only used toward special projects. The funds are used on the cost of products and freight to get them to their destination - to feed those in need. To learn more about our financials, please visit our profile on GuideStar at www.guidestar.org or here on our website on the "Financial Integrity" page.

Yes! Every donation is treasured. You can help a particular initiative or program, or you can also make a general donation to support Breedlove's overall mission.

Our dehydrated meals go farther and cost less. Because of the size and dehydrated condition (90% of water has been removed) of each meal, they pack light, are shelf stable (24-month shelf life), and provide more servings per weight, per package. These foods can be classified in three groups according to the main ingredients: Vegetable Blends, Lentil Blends, and Rice Blends. Their preparation only requires water and around 30 minutes of cooking time.

What makes the Fortified Rice Blend unique is the addition of recomposed, vitamin and mineral enriched rice kernels called NutriRice™. These enriched rice kernels are formed by hot extrusion of rice flour, therefore protecting the incorporated vitamins and minerals from being lost during the cooking process. The new technology developed by DSM and Buhler produces rice kernels that are indistinguishable from unfortified rice. To guarantee an appropriate intake of the vitamins and minerals needed for good health, NutriRice™ fortified kernels are mixed with natural rice in a ratio of 1:100 or 2:100. CHARACTERISTICS OF NutriRice™ IN BRIEF: • Looks, tastes and cooks exactly like ordinary rice; • Fortified kernels deliver the added micronutrients to the consumer as intended; • Kernels can be customized in shape, color, and micronutrient composition; • NutriRice™ is currently being used as a commodity by the World Food Programme in efforts to fight malnutrition in Cambodia.

Since 2015, we no longer dehydrate any of our ingredients in-house. It is more economical for us to purchase ingredients that are already dehydrated.

The majority of our ingredients are purchased in the U.S. because our primary customer, USAID, requires that we purchase ingredients that are American grown. The only ingredient that we buy that is not American grown is carrots. China controls the majority of the carrot market, so we purchase them from China, and USAID approves of that decision.

No. We do not currently sell in stores, online, or at our facility. We are solely focusing on providing humanitarian aid to food-insecure communities through our various partnerships.