Sharing Excess
Sharing Excess is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2018, that uses its proprietary Surplus logistics platform to rescue over 2 million pounds of surplus food weekly from grocers, wholesalers, and farmers and redistribute it to more than 2,000 hunger-relief locations across 36 states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sharing Excess does
Sharing Excess is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2018, that operates a national food rescue operation bridging edible surplus from grocers, wholesalers, farmers, and manufacturers with hunger relief organizations across 36 states. The organization rescues more than 2,000,000 pounds of food weekly and distributes to over 2,000 locations through a hub-and-spoke model supported by refrigerated vans, box trucks, system-owned warehouses, and 63 active university and community chapters. Since inception, it has cumulatively fed over 10 million people and delivered nearly 100 million meals to food banks, shelters, school meal programs, community fridges, and soup kitchens.
The operational backbone is the proprietary Surplus platform: a React single-page web application with a Hono API server backed by PostgreSQL, delivered as a Bun monorepo with end-to-end type safety via an ORPC contract-first API and a public OpenAPI specification. The platform coordinates donors, recipients, drivers, and hubs through route planning, real-time inventory tracking, hub warehouse management, and an impact analytics dashboard that calculates pounds rescued, meals made possible (using the Feeding America 1.2 lbs-per-meal standard), emissions prevented (EPA WARM v16), and retail/fair market value (ReFED/USDA). Role-based dashboards serve admins, drivers, donors, and recipients, with a Mapbox-powered geographic impact map visualizing distribution flow.
The organization is funded entirely through voluntary contributions rather than commercial sales: individual donations (with a stated impact of $1 = 12 meals), corporate and foundation grants from supporters including Beast Philanthropy, Pew Charitable Trusts, Robin Hood Foundation, Tony Robbins Foundation, Einstein Astrof Foundation, Trader Joe's, and Independence Blue Cross, personalized community fundraising campaigns, and merchandise sales through a separate e-commerce storefront. All donated funds are directed to transportation and logistics rather than food procurement or overhead. The organization holds a Charity Navigator four-star rating and an active GuideStar profile, and operates publicly available developer documentation and a public API, signaling a deliberate effort to position Surplus as an extensible platform beyond its own operations.
Sharing Excess firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sharing Excess
- Legal name
- Sharing Excess
- Website
- https://sharingexcess.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sharing Excess is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2018, that uses its proprietary Surplus logistics platform to rescue over 2 million pounds of surplus food weekly from grocers, wholesalers, and farmers and redistribute it to more than 2,000 hunger-relief locations across 36 states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sharing Excess industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Services
- NAICS
- Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Emergency Food Assistance & Nutrition Response (BPADADAE), Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD), Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Services (Donation, Animal Feed, Source Reduction Programs) (EUAIAEAH)
Keywords
Where Sharing Excess is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sharing Excess business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Individual monetary donations used to fund transportation and logistics operations. Stated that $1 can provide 12 meals and donations go directly to transportation/logistics costs rather than food purchases or overhead.
- Corporate/Foundation Grants: Support from foundations (Pew Charitable Trusts, Robin Hood Foundation, Einstein Astrof Foundation, Independence Blue Cross) and corporate philanthropists (Mr. Beast/Beast Philanthropy, Tony Robbins Foundation, Trader Joe's).
- Fundraising Campaigns: Community fundraising initiatives allowing individuals to create personalized fundraising campaigns. Every dollar enables approximately 20 pounds of surplus food rescue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Food donations are free to recipients; monetary donations support logistics |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Sharing Excess product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sharing Excess rescues edible surplus food from grocers, wholesalers, farms, and food manufacturers, then redistributes it at no cost to a national network of hunger relief organizations (food banks, shelters, school meal programs, community fridges, soup kitchens) and community members through pop-up distributions. Operations are coordinated through a proprietary logistics platform (Surplus) that provides end-to-end tracking from pickup to delivery, real-time inventory management, and impact analytics, with over 2,000,000 pounds of food rescued weekly across 36 states.
Product overview
Sharing Excess operates Surplus as a unified food rescue logistics platform comprising multiple integrated products: the core Surplus platform manages end-to-end food rescue operations including route planning, hub inventory management, and impact tracking. The Surplus Web App provides role-specific interfaces for admins (coordinators/staff), drivers (field operations), and partner organizations (donors/recipients). The Surplus API (OpenAPI) enables programmatic access and third-party integrations. Surplus Docs provides developer documentation. The Sharing Excess Store is a separate e-commerce offering for merchandise. The platform coordinates food movement from donors through hubs to recipient organizations across 36 states.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Surplus: The technology platform for food rescue operations - coordinating donors, recipients, drivers, and hubs. Includes web app, route management, hub operations, inventory tracking, and impact analytics.
Products and services
- Retail Rescue Daily food rescue and redistribution service for grocery stores, restaurants, cafés, and catering halls. Sharing Excess drivers use refrigerated vans and box trucks, guided by the Surplus app, to pick up and deliver fresh surplus food to local partner hunger relief organizations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 10 million people fed since 2018
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Sharing Excess
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Sharing Excess technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature5 records
Sharing Excess partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- Trader Joe'smajorNational grocery chain partner donating surplus food through retail rescue program. Trader Joe's commits to reducing food waste by donating unsold but edible products.
- Hunts PointmajorMajor produce market partner for wholesale rescue operations. Hunts Point is one of the largest produce distribution centers, generating significant surplus for gleaning.
- Misfits MarketcoreOnline grocery platform fighting food waste by selling imperfect produce. Partnership for surplus produce rescue and redistribution.
- LemontreeminorReferral partner for community food resources. Sharing Excess recommends Lemontree's food helpline for finding additional pantries and food centers.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sharing Excess competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Feeding America: Largest US hunger-relief organization running a nationwide network of 200+ food banks. Directly comparable in mission to end hunger through food redistribution, but operates at vastly larger scale with traditional food-bank model rather than tech-driven rescue logistics.
- Food Bank For New York City: Major NYC hunger-relief organization serving as a distribution hub for pantries and soup kitchens. Comparable in mission and recipient base but differs by running a traditional food bank rather than a tech-enabled last-mile rescue logistics model.
- Meals on Wheels America: National nonprofit network providing home-delivered meals to seniors and mobility-limited individuals. Comparable in mission of food delivery to vulnerable populations and donation-funded model, but focuses on prepared meal delivery rather than surplus food rescue.
Direct peers
- City Harvest: NYC-based food rescue nonprofit that rescues surplus food from restaurants, grocers, and manufacturers and delivers it to soup kitchens and food pantries. Operates a similar donor-to-recipient logistics model in a defined metro area, making it a strong direct comparable.
- 412 Food Rescue: Pittsburgh-based nonprofit using technology to redirect surplus food from businesses to nonprofits serving food-insecure communities. Direct competitor with similar tech-enabled donor-to-recipient logistics model and volunteer-driven operations, but smaller geographic footprint.
Regional players
- Philabundance: Greater Philadelphia regional food bank operating in the same home market as Sharing Excess. Comparable in serving food-insecure populations through partner distribution network and accepting donations from food businesses, though with a more traditional food-bank operating model.
- Caring for Friends: Philadelphia-based nonprofit collecting and distributing donated food to homebound seniors, veterans, and families in need. Comparable in Philadelphia food rescue mission and recipient base, but smaller scale and volunteer-driven rather than tech-platform-driven.
Emerging players
- FoodCloud: Ireland-based social enterprise with a technology platform connecting food businesses with surplus to charities. Comparable tech-driven food rescue model but operates in a different geography (Ireland/UK), making it a regional/global peer rather than US direct competitor.
- Too Good To Go: European-origin app marketplace connecting consumers to surplus food from restaurants and grocers at discounted prices. Comparable mission of food waste reduction through technology platform, but commercial (paid consumer) model rather than nonprofit donation model.
- Olio: App-based platform for sharing surplus food between neighbors and businesses. Comparable in addressing food waste via community-driven technology, but targets household-to-household sharing rather than business-to-nonprofit wholesale rescue.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sharing Excess social profiles
Digital presenceSharing Excess financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sharing Excess leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sharing Excess funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sharing Excess M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sharing Excess
What does Sharing Excess do?
Sharing Excess rescues edible surplus food from grocers, wholesalers, farms, and food manufacturers, then redistributes it at no cost to a national network of hunger relief organizations (food banks, shelters, school meal programs, community fridges, soup kitchens) and community members through pop-up distributions. Operations are coordinated through a proprietary logistics platform (Surplus) that provides end-to-end tracking from pickup to delivery, real-time inventory management, and impact analytics, with over 2,000,000 pounds of food rescued weekly across 36 states.
Is Sharing Excess a public or private company?
Sharing Excess is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Sharing Excess founded?
Sharing Excess was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sharing Excess based?
Sharing Excess is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sharing Excess make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate/Foundation Grants and fundraising Campaigns.
Who are Sharing Excess's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Feeding America, Food Bank For New York City and Meals on Wheels America. Direct peers are City Harvest and 412 Food Rescue. Regional players are Philabundance and Caring for Friends. Emerging players are FoodCloud, Too Good To Go and Olio.
Does Sharing Excess have an API?
Yes. Surplus provides a public API with OpenAPI specification for developers to integrate with and build on the platform. The API is contract-first using ORPC (typed RPC framework). Developers can access endpoints for routes, hubs, organizations, analytics, collections, distributions, and inventory management. The API generates a public OpenAPI spec automatically from the ORPC contract. Developer documentation is at surplus-api.sharingexcess.com/openapi.
What industry is Sharing Excess in?
Sharing Excess's product category is Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAEAA, Food Assistance & Food Banks, with a secondary code of BPADADAE, Emergency Food Assistance & Nutrition Response. Its NAICS code is 62421.