Grants for food distribution programs

3,694 food distribution programs received at least $95.1 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 10,871 grants made from 5,192 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 5,192 foundations, 70% made just a single grant to food distributors, and 5% made grants to four or more food distributors. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$95,110,345
Total grant dollars given to food distribution programs
10,871
Number of grants made annually to food distribution programs
5,192
Number of grantmakers funding food distribution programs
$1,000
Median grant size to food distribution programs

Foundations that support food distribution programs

Out of all grants made to food distribution programs, 85% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 73% of the dollar-value of grants to food distributors. Foundations funding food distributors also made grants to food banks, multiservice human service organizations, religious organizations, emergency assistance programs, and christian organizations.

Foundation size

Foundation size Number of grantmakers
Small
 
4,412
Medium
 
468
Large
 
306
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation type Number of grantmakers
Community
 
99
Private
 
4,501
Corporate
 
230
Other
 
362

Grants made

Grants made to food distributors Number of grantmakers
1
 
3,681
2-3
 
1,205
4-10
 
237
11+
 
69

Top 10 foundations supporting food distribution programs

Grantmaker State Geographic focus Percent of grant dollars to food distributors Number of grants made to food distributors Median grant size
Carmax Foundation VA National 1.9% 181 $500
Land O'Lakes Foundation MN National 2.2% 177 $600
JP Morgan Chase Foundation NY National 0.1% 164 $495
Westrock Foundation GA National 0.5% 129 $25
Abbvie Foundation IL National 0.2% 120 $260
The Rhode Island Foundation RI Metro 0.4% 114 $1,000
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines IA State 0.3% 112 $1,000
Chubb Charitable Foundation PA National 0.7% 110 $100
Food Lifeline WA Metro 18.1% 105 $1,163

Food distribution programs grantees

Food distribution programs with more than $5 million in total revenues received 82% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 60% of all food distributors.

Grant amounts

Size of grant Number of grants
<$10k
 
10,854
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
17

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenue Median grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,500
$500k-$1M
 
$1,500
$1M-$5M
 
$1,082
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of grantee Number of grants
California
 
987
New York
 
822
Illinois
 
602
Texas
 
574
Other
 
7,886

Grantee metros

Metro area of grantee Number of grants
New York City
 
824
Chicago
 
552
Washington DC
 
467
Seattle
 
329
Other
 
7,856

Top 25 grants made to food distribution programs

Grantee Grant size Purpose Grantmaker
Feeding America $8,041,342 Covid 19:covid 19 America's Food Fund Gofundmeorg
World Central Kitchen $7,859,000 Covid 19:covid 19 America's Food Fund Gofundmeorg
METROPOLITAN New York COORDINATING COUNCIL ON Jewish Poverty $6,077,000 Caring / Jewish Life Uja-Federation of New York
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank $5,638,290 Fight Hunger Feeding America
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley $5,323,239 Food Security Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Collaborative for Fresh Produce $4,719,303 Produce Acquisition and Distribution Feeding Texas
North Texas Food Bank $4,508,281 This Grant Is Designated for General Support. Communities Foundation of Texas
Second Harvest Food Bank Greater New Orleans and Acadiana $4,259,009 Fight Hunger Feeding America
Greater Chicago Food Depository $4,101,825 General Support Fulk Family Foundation
Share Our Strength $3,665,000 To Provide Covid-19 Support Blue Meridian Partners
United Dairy Industry of Michigan $3,643,323 Promote the Sale of Milk and Milk Products and Increase Consumer Awareness of Milk Products Through Promotion, Research, and Nutrition Education. Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA)
Meals on Wheels by ACC $3,599,382 Senior Programs Area 4 Agency on Aging
The Houston Food Bank $2,920,145 Fight Hunger Feeding America
Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) $2,793,567 Fight Hunger Feeding America
Greater Chicago Food Depository $2,792,478 Fight Hunger Feeding America
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana $2,700,000 General Support United Way of Central Indiana
Meals on Wheels of Tarrant $2,653,360 Transportation Vouchers & Home Delivered Meals & Participant Assessment, Healthy Ideas, CLP. United Way of Tarrant County
Loaves and Fishes $5,000 X Religion Spiritual Development Community Foundation of Louisville
Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin (VOW) $5,000 Covid Relief United Way of Racine County
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin $5,000 Covid Relief United Way of Racine County
Wilkinson Center $5,000 Education and Support for Families in Need. The Baldridge Foundation
Wilkinson Center $5,000 Education and Support for Families in Need. The Baldridge Foundation
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank $5,000 General Purposes Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
Fluvanna Meals on Wheels $5,000 General Purposes Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
Local Food Hub $5,000 Restricted To Support of Not-For-Profit Programs Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Food distribution programs" category for this page is determined by the "K30: Food Service, Free Food Distribution Programs" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.