What Feeding San Diego does

Feeding San Diego is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit hunger-relief and food rescue organization established in 2007 and headquartered at 9477 Waples St., Ste. 100, San Diego, CA. It is the only Feeding America partner food bank serving San Diego County, and operates a hub-and-spoke distribution model that aggregates surplus edible food from more than 600 retail and foodservice locations in San Diego County and 225+ California farms and packing sheds, then redistributes it through a network of 320+ partner charities, schools, faith communities, meal sites, and food pantries, plus mobile pantries, school pantries (16 sites across 8 school districts serving ~2,995 unduplicated families/month), and large-scale drive-through events (Together Tour, up to 1,400 households per event). Annual output is 31.2M+ meals, 27M+ pounds of food diverted from landfill, and approximately 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent avoided.

The operating stack is composed primarily of third-party platforms: Feeding America's MealConnect app for real-time donation coordination (iOS/Android/web), Agency Express 3 (AE3) for partner ordering and delivery, and Golden Volunteer Management Software licensed through the Partner Volunteer Management Program; supplemented by Smartsheet forms, Clover payment processing, Google Maps for the Find Food map, Google Analytics, and social logins. Programmatic surfaces include seven program modules (Feeding Kids, Feeding Families, Feeding Heroes, Feeding Seniors, Feeding Wellness, Seed to Feed, plus the Hunger Action Heroes youth sub-brand) and service offerings such as SB 1383 compliance support for California Tier 1 and Tier 2 commercial edible food generators. The organization holds a Charity Navigator 4-star rating, Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency (2025), BBB Accredited Charity status, One Percent for the Planet membership, and UNA-San Diego SDGs Champion designation.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations and in-kind contributions: individual recurring and one-time donations (every $1 = 2 meals messaging), corporate and foundation grants (Life Science Cares San Diego $150K, IDFA Foundation $6K+, Las Patronas $95.2K, Wells Fargo $25K, San Diego Foundation $25K+, Food Is Medicine $75K, Tony Hawk Celebrity Wheel of Fortune $173.8K, plus $50K+ tier partners including Walmart Foundation, Target, Starbucks Foundation, Wells Fargo, Leidos, Vertex Foundation, Valhalla Foundation, Price Philanthropies, David C. Copley Foundation, Chick-fil-A, Jersey Mike's, Albertsons Foundation, Kroger/Ralphs, and others), in-kind food rescue (over 92% of distributed food), vehicle donations, branded merchandise, and the Give a Meal restaurant micro-donation program ($15 per donated meal).

Name

Feeding San Diego

Legal name

Feeding San Diego

Website

https://feedingsandiego.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Feeding San Diego is the only Feeding America partner food bank in San Diego County, distributing 31.2M+ meals per year through 320+ partner agencies via a rescue-first model that diverts over 27M pounds of surplus food annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief and Food Rescue Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Hunger relief programs
• Food bank operations
• Community food distribution
• Meal assistance services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Recurring and one-time online donations from individual donors; tagline 'Every $1 helps provide 2 meals' is used to drive conversion; managed via Development Department.
2. Corporate, Organization & Foundation Partnerships: Major gift and grants from corporate, foundation, and organizational partners including Walmart Foundation, Target, Wells Fargo, Starbucks, Leidos, Vertex, Valhalla Foundation, Price Philanthropies, David C. Copley Foundation, and many others; includes matching gift programs.
3. Vehicle Donations: Donated vehicles are accepted and liquidated to support the hunger-relief mission.
4. Shop for a Cause & Fundraisers: Branded merchandise storefront (shop.feedingsandiego.org) and supporter-led fundraising campaigns generate incremental revenue.
5. Spread Love San Diego / Give a Meal Initiative: Restaurant-driven micro-donation program where customers add a $15 meal donation to their order; meals are prepared and picked up via MealConnect for distribution to people facing hunger.
6. In-Kind Food Donations (Rescue): Non-cash revenue stream in the form of rescued surplus food from 600+ retail/foodservice locations and 225+ California farms and packing sheds; this is the dominant supply source (over 92% of distributed food in FY20 and over 70% during the pandemic).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Core offering

Feeding San Diego rescues surplus edible food from over 600 retail and foodservice locations in San Diego County and 225+ California farms and packing sheds, then redistributes it through a network of 320+ partner agencies, mobile pantries, school pantries, and large-scale Together Tour distributions to provide more than 31.2 million meals per year to people facing hunger. The organization operates seven program modules (Feeding Kids, Families, Heroes, Seniors, Wellness, Seed to Feed, and Youth Education) supported by donor, volunteer, and agency technology (MealConnect, AE3, Golden Volunteer Management, Find Food map). Its mission combines hunger relief with environmental impact, diverting 27M+ pounds of food from landfill and reducing ~25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually.

Product overview

Feeding San Diego is the leading hunger-relief and food rescue organization in San Diego County and the only Feeding America partner food bank in the region, established in 2007. Its offering is a unified non-profit platform composed of a core Food Rescue Program and a suite of program modules (Feeding Kids, Feeding Families, Feeding Heroes, Feeding Seniors, Feeding Wellness, and Seed to Feed) plus the Youth Education sub-brand Hunger Action Heroes, supported by operational technology such as the Find Food Map, the Mobile Pantry Program, the Partner Portal, the Food Donor Portal, and the MealConnect app deployment that powers SB 1383 compliance. Together, these products enable food rescue, large-scale distributions (such as the Together Tour), school and summer meal programs (CACFP, SFSP), and partner coordination through Agency Express 3 (AE3) delivery and Mobile Marketplace & Starbucks FoodShare, providing more than 31.2 million meals per year across a network of over 320 local charities, schools, faith communities, meal sites, and food pantries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MealConnect: A technology platform/app operated by Feeding America and used by Feeding San Diego to coordinate real-time surplus food donations from food donors (farms, grocery stores, restaurants) to volunteers and partner agencies for distribution.

Products and services

• Food Rescue Program A core food rescue program that diverts surplus edible food from over 600 locations in San Diego County (grocery/retail) and over 225 farms and packing sheds throughout California, rescuing food that would otherwise go to landfills. In FY20 the program diverted 27.6M pounds of food, averting ~25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
• Together Tour (large-scale distribution series) A series of large-scale contactless food distribution events held at venues such as Pechanga Arena San Diego, North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, and California State University San Marcos, serving up to 1,400 households per event with dry goods, fresh produce, and frozen meat protein.
• Mobile Pantry Program A food distribution program using box trucks to deliver food directly to remote and rural areas of San Diego County, including Descanso, Santa Ysabel, Fallbrook, East County, and South Bay, serving food desert communities with limited transportation options.
• School Pantry Program Operates 16+ school pantry sites serving 2,995 unduplicated families per month across eight school districts in San Diego County, including a new Encanto Elementary School pantry funded by Life Science Cares San Diego.
• CACFP After-School Meal Program USDA Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) operating at 10 federally funded sites across San Diego County, providing free nutritious snacks and suppers to children aged 1-18 Monday through Friday.
• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) USDA Summer Food Service Program deployment providing nutritious meals (breakfast, lunch, or snacks) to youth 18 and under at 22 sites across San Diego County, served five days a week on a first-come, first-served basis following USDA SFSP meal pattern.
• Give a Meal Initiative (Spread Love San Diego) A restaurant-driven micro-donation program where customers at participating restaurants (e.g., Carte Blanche Bistro & Bar, George's at the Cove, One Door North, Social Tap American Eatery, Terra American Bistro, The Little Lion Cafe, The Smoking Goat) add a $15 meal donation to their order; meals are prepared and picked up via MealConnect for distribution to people facing hunger.
• SB 1383 Compliance Support A free service offering that helps Tier 1 and Tier 2 commercial edible food generators in California comply with Senate Bill 1383 by collecting surplus edible food donations, providing written agreements and monthly donation activity reports, and offering MealConnect platform access.
• Feeding Kids Program A program module focused on providing nutritious food to children and students through school pantries, CACFP, and SFSP across San Diego County.
• Feeding Heroes Program A program module providing food assistance to military families and veterans in partnership with organizations such as Armed Services YMCA.
• Feeding Seniors Program A program module serving low-income seniors with nutritious food across San Diego County.
• Feeding Wellness Program (Food Is Medicine) A nutrition-focused food distribution program module that includes the Food Is Medicine initiative bringing health-focused programming to East County's most remote communities.
• Find Food Map A public-facing interactive map on feedingsandiego.org that allows users to locate free food distributions near them by entering a zip code, embedded via Google Maps.
• Partner Portal An online portal for agency partners providing access to the Agency Handbook, compliance and monitoring resources, food rescue resources, Agency Express 3 (AE3) delivery, Mobile Marketplace and Starbucks FoodShare programs, payment information, FAQs, and external resources.
• Food Donor Portal An online portal for food donors and rescue partners providing donor training videos (English and Spanish), food donation labels and guidelines, SB 1383 Food Generator information, MealConnect donation report SOPs, and SB 1383 Food Recovery Agreements, with three regional food rescue coordinators.
• Hunger Action Heroes (Youth Education) A youth-focused hunger education sub-brand hosted at hungeractionheroes.org that engages young people in learning about hunger and food rescue, including the joint Climate Controller Girl Scouts Patch program with Girl Scouts San Diego and Swinerton Renewable Energy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Every $1 helps provide 2 meals
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, minor, flagship and core.

• Life Science Cares San DiegomoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026Life Science Cares San Diego (LSC San Diego) has invested $150,000 in Feeding San Diego's School Pantry Program, including $50,000 for a new pantry at Encanto Elementary School expected to serve more than 200 households monthly. The two organizations also co-host an annual Summer Food Drive (fourth annual on June 10, 2026), collecting 474 pounds of food with over 40 volunteers.
• IDFA Foundation and U.S. Dairy CompaniesmoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026The IDFA Foundation and several U.S. dairy companies donated 12,960 units of shelf-stable milk and $6,000 to Feeding San Diego food bank, supporting more than 22,000 meals through the school's pantry program. More than 30 dairy executives participated in a two-hour service event sorting and packing food. The IDFA Foundation has provided over one million meals to food-insecure people since 2022.
• TSA Officers / DHS Shutdown Aid CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2026Feeding San Diego is referenced among the nonprofits, unions, and airports rallying to feed TSA officers impacted by the partial Department of Homeland Security government shutdown in 2026 that has affected more than 120,000 DHS employees.
• Specialty Food Association (SFA)moderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 January 2026SFA partnered with Feeding San Diego for an exhibitor food donation program at the inaugural Winter FancyFaire trade show (January 11-13, 2026) in San Diego, which brought together over 12,000 industry professionals and more than 1,000 exhibitors from 30 countries.
• Bloom Family Farms (Alpine, CA)moderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2021Bloom Family Farms (owner Jeff Bloom) has repurposed almost 250,000 pounds of food not fit for human consumption from Feeding San Diego by feeding it to his 30-50 Red Wattle and Berkshire pigs. Approximately 95% of food that would otherwise be thrown away is picked up by Bloom in reusable totes.
• Rob Machado FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2021Partnered with Feeding San Diego on a new sustainability initiative installing a water refill station at its volunteer training center, eliminating the need for single-use plastic bottles.
• Feeding AmericaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeeding San Diego is the only Feeding America partner food bank in San Diego County. The Feeding America network provides operational standards, technology (MealConnect), liability protection framework, and the partner food bank co-brand.
• Starbucks (Starbucks FoodShare and The Starbucks Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Starbucks Foundation is a major partner (logo shown alongside other $50K+ corporate partners). The Starbucks FoodShare Mobile Marketplace program is documented in the Partner Portal as a distribution channel in which agency partners operate Starbucks Clean Bin SOPs.
• TargetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTarget is both a $50,000+ corporate/foundation partner and a major food donor for SB 1383 rescue. Specific Target check-in/out processes are documented in the partner portal.
• Ralphs / Food 4 Less (Kroger)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKroger (Ralphs + Food 4 Less) is a $50,000+ partner and major food donor. Specific Kroger donation items and updated check-in/out process are documented in the partner portal.
• CDSS (California Department of Social Services)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDSS is listed among the $50,000+ tier of corporate, organization, and foundation partners.
• County of San DiegomoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty of San Diego is listed among the $50,000+ tier of partners and runs local grant programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program cited in the Partner Portal.
• GoMacromoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoMacro is listed among the $50,000+ tier of corporate, organization, and foundation partners.
• Monarch SchoolmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonarch School is a public K-12 school serving homeless students in San Diego County. Feeding San Diego supports an onsite farmer's market-style distribution with food, hygiene supplies, and access to case managers and mental health clinicians three times per month.
• Girl Scouts San DiegominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-developed the 'Climate Controller' Girl Scouts Patch with Feeding San Diego and Swinerton Renewable Energy, enabling Girl Scouts to learn about food waste and how rescue combats climate change through remote activities.
• Swinerton Renewable EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed the Climate Controller Girl Scouts Patch with Feeding San Diego and Girl Scouts San Diego to teach youth about food waste and climate change.
• KindhumansminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKindhumans ran the #KindhumansChallenge on social media; for every post shared, the company donated 20 meals to Feeding San Diego with a goal of 20,000 meals during the Feed People Not Landfills campaign.
• Girl Scout Troop #4978 (Lily Piehl, Chef Fred and Tammy Piehl)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerDeveloped the original 'Give a Meal' concept as a Girl Scout Bronze Award project, partnering Feeding San Diego with local restaurants (The Smoking Goat, One Door North) to drive business to restaurants while feeding people facing hunger.
• San Diego Local Restaurants (Campus Tasting Trail)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal San Diego restaurants partnered with Specialty Food Association's Winter FancyFaire* Campus Tasting Trail, which collaborated with Feeding San Diego for an exhibitor food donation program.
• San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEHQ oversees the Charitable Feeding Program and partners with Feeding San Diego to ensure safe food donation. Vanessa Mello, Program Coordinator, presented at the 2026 Spring Agency Summit on food safety, the risk-based inspection process, and permitting guidance for nonprofit food distributors.
• CalRecyclemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalRecycle is the California state regulator that designates Feeding San Diego as a Food Recovery Organization under SB 1383, providing the regulatory framework for Tier 1 and Tier 2 commercial edible food generator compliance partnerships.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSDA funds the Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) which Feeding San Diego administers at youth meal sites across San Diego County.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank: Another large-scale Feeding America-affiliated food bank operating in Southern California with a comparable hub-and-spoke distribution model, agency partner network, and mobile pantry programs. Most directly comparable peer given geographic proximity and similar mix of corporate, foundation, and government funding.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County: Feeding America partner food bank serving Orange County with similar agency-distribution model, mobile pantries, and corporate fundraising structure; operates adjacent territory in Southern California with comparable programs (Kids Cafe, senior nutrition).
• San Francisco-Marin Food Banks: Feeding America-affiliated food bank operating in Northern California with analogous pantry-agency distribution, food rescue, and nutrition program offerings, serving as a same-state structural peer for SB 1383 exposure.
• Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano: California-based Feeding America partner food bank with similar mix of agency distribution, food rescue, and child nutrition programs; provides a useful same-state peer for SB 1383 compliance execution and county-level scale benchmarks.

Regional players

• North County Food Bank: Smaller, locally focused food bank serving portions of northern San Diego County; partial overlap with Feeding San Diego's territory and a competitor for some agency partnerships and donor dollars in North County.
• San Diego Hunger Coalition: Local San Diego advocacy and policy coalition addressing hunger; complements Feeding San Diego's service delivery with policy work and CalFresh outreach, overlapping in target population but not directly competing for donations.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America (national network): National umbrella organization of which Feeding San Diego is the sole San Diego County affiliate; provides MealConnect, AE3, and operational standards. Not a competitor but the closest structural incumbent that defines the rules and technology stack.

Emerging players

• Goodr: Atlanta-based social impact startup that provides technology-enabled surplus food recovery and logistics for restaurants and food banks; overlaps with Feeding San Diego's MealConnect workflow but as a technology vendor/competitor.
• Replate: Tech-forward nonprofit that connects surplus food from businesses to communities in need via an online platform; comparable mission and tech-enabled food rescue but national scope and smaller operational scale.

Others

• Move For Hunger: National nonprofit that mobilizes moving companies to deliver donated food to food banks; a logistics-enabling peer that often partners with Feeding America affiliates including Feeding San Diego.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCa8X09ZF4JCYGuxoiwaxRpA
• Facebookfacebook.com/feedingsandiego
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/feeding-san-diego
• Instagraminstagram.com/feedingsandiego
• Xx.com/FeedingSanDiego

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 Feeding San Diego