In 1996, food banks in Michigan were faced with a challenge. Donations alone weren’t enough. Food banks needed to purchase food, but the systems, supplier relationships, and pricing structures to do it effectively simply did not exist. That’s when Value-Added Food Sales stepped in, not as a traditional wholesaler, but as a solution built through partnership with those closest to the problem. This would ultimately reshape how hunger relief organizations source food across the country.

“Just because someone is down on their luck doesn’t mean they should have to eat that way.” – John Frigmanski, Founder

Thirty years later, that same philosophy still drives everything we do.

Where It Started: Built by Listening (1990s–Early 2000s)

The story of Value-Added Food Sales begins with founder John Frigmanski, and his expertise acquired through decades in the grocery industry.

After running a large-scale procurement and merchandising operation for Spartan Stores through F&AM Incorporated, John had deep experience in sourcing, vendor management, logistics, and private label product quality. When that chapter ended in the early 1990s, the next step wasn’t obvious, but the opportunity found him.

Through a trusted relationship with Augie Fernandes, then at Gleaners Food Bank in Detroit, John was introduced to a growing issue: food banks were purchasing food inefficiently, with limited options, inconsistent pricing, and little structure.

So, John did what would become a defining characteristic of VAFS: he listened.

Working with Augie, they brought together leaders from food banks across Michigan. During these discussions, they identified a shared truth among food banks. By coordinating purchasing and consolidating demand, food banks could stretch every dollar further and serve more neighbors.

In 1996, following this intervention, Value-Added Food Sales was born.

• A small, dedicated warehouse
• A handful of customers
• A limited assortment of shelf-stable products

The mission was clear: build a better way for hunger relief organizations to source food.

This first phase was defined by learning, collaboration, and building trust with food banks and vendors that largely lacked understanding of the nonprofit market.

Transforming the Market: Partnership at Scale (Late 2000s–2020s)

The second phase of VAFS began when local success evolved into national impact.

Value-Added—then Enterprise Marketing—was selected to support the Feeding America National Cooperative Purchasing Program. What followed was more than a contract. It was a decade-long partnership that helped reshape the economics of food banking.

Together with Feeding America, VAFS helped build:

• A structured national vendor base
• Coordinated purchasing across 200+ food banks
• A scalable direct-from-manufacturer (DFM) model
• Greater consistency in quality, pricing, and availability

During this time, the program grew rapidly from approximately $7 million to more than $50 million of sourced groceries annually and introduced a level of rigor and efficiency that hadn’t previously existed in the system.

“Our work was being felt across the entire industry,” notes current President and Owner Ben Frigmanski. “Even when others offer similar pricing today, it’s because those standards were pushed into the market over time.”

VAFS also played a critical role in supporting large-scale disaster response efforts. From Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to ongoing national emergencies, food banks relied on coordinated purchasing and rapid sourcing to meet sudden spikes in demand. These moments reinforced the importance of speed, reliability, and partnership in the supply chain, and demonstrated how a more structured system could deliver food to communities when it was needed most.

Through this partnership, VAFS worked directly with manufacturers to rethink how the nonprofit sector should be served by challenging cost structures that were built for retail, not hunger relief.

The result?

• The removal of unnecessary cost layers
• More consistent and transparent pricing
• The emergence of “food bank pricing” standards still used today

“Hunger relief is not retail,” continues Ben. “We understand grants, agency needs, nutrition requirements, and unpredictable demand because it’s all we’ve ever done.”

Simply put, this phase helped transform how suppliers engage with hunger relief organizations and how those organizations purchase food. Phase two reinforced a core truth that still defines VAFS. The greatest impact comes through partnership, not transactions.

Scaling the Mission: National Growth and Innovation (Early 2020s–Today)

As the Feeding America partnership came to a close, Value-Added Food Sales entered its third phase, not by stepping back, but by doubling down.

With decades of experience, deep industry relationships, and a proven model, VAFS rapidly expanded its reach by investing heavily in inventory, infrastructure, and capabilities to serve food banks nationwide.

In just a few years, the business evolved into a national-scale wholesaler, supported by:

• A growing network of mixing centers
• Expanded vendor partnerships
• Dedicated freight relationships
• Enhanced technology and ordering systems
• A larger, more specialized team

At the same time, the focus remained clear: reduce cost and friction in the hunger relief supply chain.

The urgency of this work became especially clear during COVID-19, when demand surged and supply chains were disrupted across the country. In that environment, reliability and speed weren’t just advantages, they were essential.

For VAFS, that meant investing in:

• Inventory to improve availability
• Technology to increase transparency and speed
• Process improvements to make purchasing easier and more reliable

As CEO Nick Blawat puts it, “When we eliminate waste and inefficiency in the supply chain, we create value. And in this system, value means more food reaching more people.”

This perspective reflects a broader truth about the hunger relief sector: demand will always outpace supply. The only way forward is through greater efficiency, smarter sourcing, and stronger partnerships.

What Hasn’t Changed: A Commitment to Partnership

Across all three decades, one theme connects the entire journey: partnership.

From working side-by-side with Michigan food banks in the early days, to collaborating with national organizations and vendors to reshape the market, to building modern, flexible solutions for today’s challenges…

VAFS has always focused on creating value through collaboration.

“We’re not here to generate transactions—we’re here to create solutions,” Nick explains.

Partnership means helping food banks navigate complex purchasing decisions shaped by funding constraints, timing, nutrition standards, and agency needs. It means offering flexible sourcing options from mixing centers to direct-from-manufacturer and guiding customers toward the right strategy for their operations.

The impact of collaboration is visible today in our relationships with:

• Food bank partners who rely on VAFS not just for supply, but for strategy
• Vendors who design products and pricing specifically for hunger relief
• Operational partnerships that extend beyond transactions to solve real challenges

Together, these partnerships reflect what has always set VAFS apart. By building trust, sharing knowledge, and working alongside the organizations we serve, we create solutions that extend far beyond a single transaction. When partnership works the way it should, every part of the system becomes more efficient, more responsive, and ultimately more impactful for the neighbors who rely on it.

Looking Ahead

Today, VAFS operates as a nationwide grocery wholesaler with a network of mixing centers, serving food banks across the country with more than 1,000 shelf-stable items across 23+ categories. Each year, we help move over 150 million pounds of food into communities that need it most.

While the mission remains the same, the next chapter is about:

• Extending reach across more regions and partners
• Continuing to improve efficiency through scale
• Building deeper, more transparent partnerships across the supply chain

30 Years and Still Building

What began as a small, collaborative effort in Michigan has grown into a trusted partner for hunger relief organizations across the country. The story of Value-Added Food Sales isn’t just about where we’ve been. It’s about what we’ve built together and what’s still ahead.

The work is far from finished, and we’re ready to bring more to the table.