Good Shepherd Food Bank

What Good Shepherd Food Bank does

Good Shepherd Food Bank is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1981 and headquartered in Auburn, Maine, operating as Maine's largest hunger relief organization. It distributes food through a network of nearly 600 partner agencies — including food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers, shelters, schools, and healthcare facilities — across the entire state of Maine, from Kittery to Fort Kent. The organization runs specialized programs including Mainers Feeding Mainers (local farm purchasing with 90+ farm partners), School Partners (138 schools served), Healthcare Partners (154 healthcare sites), Cooking Matters Maine (nutrition education), Summer Meals, Farm Fresh Rewards (SNAP incentive program), and Equity & Impact Funds. In 2024 it distributed 40M+ meals, and in 2025 its 142 corporate partners contributed the equivalent of 27M meals.

Name

Good Shepherd Food Bank

Legal name

Good Shepherd Food Bank

Website

https://gsfb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine's largest hunger relief nonprofit, distributing 40M+ meals in 2024 through nearly 600 partner agencies statewide via food pantries, schools, and healthcare sites, funded by charitable donations and supported by 142 corporate partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Hunger relief services
• Food distribution network
• Community food assistance
• Food bank operations
• Nutrition education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Food Recovery: Good Shepherd Food Bank operates as a nonprofit hunger relief organization funded primarily through charitable donations of food and monetary contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Revenue comes from food donations, monetary gifts, corporate partnerships (food and monetary donations), government commodity programs (TEFAP), SNAP support programs, and participant contributions for programs like Cooking Matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Good Shepherd Food Bank is a nonprofit hunger-relief organization that sources, aggregates, and distributes food through a network of nearly 600 partner agencies (food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers, shelters, schools, and healthcare facilities) across Maine. It operates specialized programs including Mainers Feeding Mainers (local farm purchasing), School Partners (child hunger programs), Healthcare Partners (clinical food access), Farm Fresh Rewards (SNAP incentives), and Cooking Matters (nutrition education), and runs the for-profit Harvesting Good subsidiary for frozen food processing.

Product overview

Good Shepherd Food Bank operates as a food bank network with multiple interconnected programs and one subsidiary brand. The core offering consists of food distribution through a network of nearly 600 partner agencies, supported by specialized programs including Mainers Feeding Mainers (local food purchasing), School Partners (child hunger programs), Healthcare Partners, and Cooking Matters (nutrition education). The Harvesting Good subsidiary operates a frozen food processing venture. Additional offerings include the Food Map digital tool, Farm Fresh Rewards SNAP incentive program, and advocacy initiatives. Programs are designed to work together: local farms supply food through Mainers Feeding Mainers, which distributes to partners who serve families; School Partners and Summer Meals address child hunger specifically; Healthcare Partners integrates food assistance into clinical settings; and Farm Fresh Rewards provides SNAP recipients additional purchasing power for local produce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Harvesting Good: A for-profit public benefit corporation that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Good Shepherd Food Bank. Its mission is to improve access to nutritious food for all consumers and strengthen regional food systems by creating a mid-scale food processing venture, producing affordable frozen foods while supporting local farms.

Products and services

• Mainers Feeding Mainers A statewide local food purchasing program that buys fresh produce from Maine farmers and distributes it to nearly 600 partner agencies across the state. Started with nine farm partners in 2010 and has grown to over 90 farm partners, having distributed 28 million pounds of Maine-produced food and invested $15 million into Maine's agricultural economy since 2010.
• Cooking Matters Maine A community-based cooking and nutrition education program that teaches participants how to cook healthy, delicious meals on a budget.
• School Partners Program Programs providing meal support for children after school, on weekends, and during vacations, including school pantries, backpack programs, and summer meal sites, serving 138 schools across Maine.
• Healthcare Partners Partnership program that connects healthcare providers with food bank resources to help patients experiencing food insecurity access nutritious food, serving 154 healthcare sites.
• Farm Fresh Rewards A year-round program that allows EBT/SNAP benefit recipients to save on fresh local fruits and vegetables at participating retailers, applied as a discount at checkout.
• Harvesting Good A for-profit public benefit corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Good Shepherd Food Bank that operates a transparent frozen food processing system producing affordable, healthy food while supporting local farms and strengthening rural communities.
• Food Map An online search tool allowing users to find local food pantries and food resources by zip code, town, or county across Maine.
• Summer Meals Program Program that provides meals to children during the summer months when school meals are not available, partnering with sites across Maine.
• Advocating for Change Policy advocacy program that supports legislation and policies addressing hunger, SNAP benefits, and food security issues at the state and federal level.
• Equity and Impact Funds Funding initiatives to address the disproportionate impact of food insecurity and increase access to culturally relevant foods for underserved communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 million+ meals distributed in 2024 through network of statewide hunger-relief organizations
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated network member of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity. Provides access to national resources, best practices, collective purchasing power, and shared advocacy efforts.
• Harvesting GoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of Good Shepherd Food Bank focused on improving access to nutritious food and strengthening regional food systems through a frozen food processing venture. Launching transparent frozen food processing system that produces affordable, healthy food while supporting local farms.
• Camp Susan CurtisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Camp Susan Curtis (Susan L. Curtis Foundation) to provide food boxes to campers and families when campers head home from summer camp. Distributions happen when parents arrive to pick up children.
• SodexocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide frozen Maine-grown broccoli to Maine's students during winter months. Sodexo's Maine Course Director highlighted the importance of local vegetables during winter when fresh Maine ingredients are scarce.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Greater Boston Food Bank: Regional Feeding America food bank serving eastern Massachusetts with similar food distribution, partner agency network, and hunger-relief programs. Directly comparable as a Northeastern US food bank of similar scale and mission.
• New Hampshire Food Bank: Feeding America member food bank serving New Hampshire, GSFB's immediate neighboring state. Operates with similar partner agency distribution model and addresses comparable rural food insecurity dynamics in Northern New England.
• Vermont Foodbank: Statewide Feeding America food bank serving Vermont with comparable rural distribution challenges, partner agency networks, and programs focused on serving low-income and geographically isolated populations in Northern New England.
• Rhode Island Community Food Bank: Feeding America affiliated food bank serving Rhode Island with similar statewide distribution model, partner agency network, and focus on nutritious food access for vulnerable populations in the Northeast.
• Food Bank of Western Massachusetts: Regional Feeding America food bank serving western Massachusetts counties with comparable partner agency network, food distribution programs, and hunger-relief programs targeting similar New England populations.
• Foodshare: Regional food bank serving Connecticut with similar Feeding America affiliation, partner agency network, food distribution programs, and volunteer-driven operating model in the Northeast.
• Maryland Food Bank: Statewide Feeding America food bank with comparable scale, partner agency distribution model, and nutrition programs. Operates with similar mission to distribute food across a defined geographic service area.
• Capital Area Food Bank: Regional Feeding America food bank serving the Washington DC metro area with similar food distribution, partner agency network, and programs addressing food insecurity in an urban and suburban population.

Regional players

• Maine Coast Fishermen's Association: Maine-based nonprofit supporting local food systems through the fishing industry, partially overlapping with GSFB's local food sourcing mission (Mainers Feeding Mainers). Comparable as a Maine-focused food system nonprofit but operating in a different sub-sector.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National umbrella organization for the Feeding America network, of which Good Shepherd Food Bank is a member. Comparable as the national hunger-relief charity providing shared resources, best practices, and collective purchasing power to member food banks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCD1XehklBTeV36SyP_ntWhA
• Facebookfacebook.com/feedingmaine
• Instagraminstagram.com/feedingmaine
• Xx.com/feedingmaine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Good Shepherd Food Bank