Meet Kendra Montijo: Founder, More Than Apples, inc

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kendra Montijo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kendra, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
Community! The way my community has rallied and stepped up for others has been beyond inspiring for me. Within my org, of food rescue and redistribution, members have stepped up in countless ways for those around them. A few of our members have started free giving stores of food within their neighborhoods, complete strangers have picked up food boxes for others that unexpectedly couldn’t make it, we have an entire group of people that trade items for others, meeting needs and continuing the mission and vision of more than apples. With the onset of the coronavirus, I was witness to hundreds of these transactions! Good people, helping good people. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a professional mother and non profit founder. I entered the professional world by accident. I was always a stay at home parent, and had no intentions of returning to work. However my family needed access to healthy foods at a price we could afford. With the massive amounts of food waste in the US, I knew there had to be a way. I looked at food banks, which didn’t seem to offer the types of food I was looking for. Knowing, grocers toss so much food every week- especially specialty items like allergy friendly or organic! So I set out to create an organization that offered these foods, for a minimal donation.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Diego has so much fun to offer! I’ll answer as though we are not currently in a stay at home order 🙂 . My favorite place to visit is at the San Diego bay, we’d take a pop up and homemade charcuterie board. The kids would boogie board, and the parents would relax, maybe with a hard seltzer in hand. We’d take a day trip to the beach as well, probably Carlsbad. Taking a walk and enjoying all the local shops. We wouldn’t be able to skip a trip to sea port village and shop among all the small and local businesses. And a daily trip to my favorite boba store, ding tea!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Malinda, from Paige’s Produce. She’s a mom to a wonderful 18 year old autistic girl, who’s meeting her therapeutic needs via packaging bags of produce, that she either picks from neighboring backyards, or picks up from organizations like more than apples, and then delivering all across San Diego county.

Website: Www.more than apples.com
Instagram: Morethanapplesinc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoreThanApplesinc/

Image Credits
N/a