News & Press

In 1986, Jim Burt left his job selling for a grocery company to start a business of his own: Reclaim Center Inc. (RCI), a national wholesale grocery distribution business that salvages still-edible packaged foods that would otherwise be destined for landfills. Based in Northeast Minneapolis, the company purchases overproductions, package changes, close-dated, and discontinued goods. It sells this inventory at discounted rates to food shelves, discount food stores, and food banks, with a mission to put good food into the hands of people who need it most. During the pandemic, Burt says, the need for low-cost food has been higher than ever. 

A year after starting Reclaim Center, he and his wife, Margaret Burt, began packaging and selling their own roasted nuts to 3M employees. What first began as a seasonal endeavor grew into a full-fledged business called We Are Nuts (WAN), which now operates out of a separate warehouse and storefront in Northeast Minneapolis.