Loaves and Fishes

What Loaves and Fishes does

Loaves and Fishes, legally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax-ID # 56-1398498) and operating under the brand name Nourish Up, is a hunger-relief organization headquartered at 901 Carrier Drive, Charlotte, NC. Founded in 1975, the entity was formed through the merger of two legacy Charlotte nonprofits — Loaves & Fishes and Friendship Trays — and now serves food-insecure residents of Mecklenburg County exclusively. Its operating footprint is regional, anchored by the largest network of food pantries in North Carolina, supplemented by grocery home delivery, weekday Meals on Wheels-style prepared-meal delivery, and periodic Pop Up Food Share distribution events. The combined organization reports 2025 program throughput of 169,099 grocery recipients, 143,736 delivered meals, and 28,481 pop-up food share participants, with thousands of additional neighbors connected to supplementary social services through its Hunger Hub.

The portfolio of services extends beyond food distribution into adjacent programs including the Hunger Hub (centralized referral to food and additional social services), the Teaching Kitchen (nutrition and cooking education under the Pantry to Plate program), and a Room Rentals program that monetizes underused facility capacity. The organization relies on a small paid staff of 11–50 employees supplemented by an extensive volunteer delivery workforce. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations are supported by standard nonprofit SaaS tools including Bloomerang for donor management and Constant Contact for email outreach, with web and digital infrastructure built and maintained by vendor Bellaworks.

The revenue model is donation-driven and operates under a community-led go-to-market motion. Nourish Up generates contributed revenue through tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, alongside donated food inventory sourced through partners such as Second Harvest Food Bank. Services to recipients are provided free of charge with no fees, contracts, or pricing models; recipients are qualifying Mecklenburg County residents experiencing food insecurity. Funding sources are diversified across community giving, with one disclosed tranche of $20,000 from Campbell Soup Company recorded in April 2023. The organization holds a 2025 Candid Platinum transparency seal and Charity Navigator certification, and maintains strategic partnerships with United Way, Second Harvest Food Bank, and regional networks including RGB.

Name

Loaves and Fishes

Legal name

Loaves and Fishes

Website

https://loavesandfishes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Loaves and Fishes (Nourish Up) is a Charlotte-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit food-assistance organization that operates the largest network of food pantries in North Carolina, providing groceries, Meals on Wheels, and pop-up food shares to food-insecure Mecklenburg County residents, funded through donations and volunteer support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief / Food Assistance Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food bank services
• Hunger relief programs
• Meals on Wheels delivery
• Food pantry network
• Community food assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization generates revenue primarily through tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Donations include both monetary contributions (funds) and food donations. Tax-ID # 56-1398498 confirms 501(c)(3) status.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Loaves and Fishes (operating as Nourish Up) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free food assistance to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina residents through three core programs: groceries via the largest network of food pantries in North Carolina plus home delivery, weekday Meals on Wheels delivered by volunteers, and Pop Up Food Shares. All offerings are provided at no cost to qualifying neighbors in need, funded entirely by charitable donations.

Product overview

Nourish Up (formerly Loaves & Fishes and Friendship Trays) is a nonprofit food assistance organization offering a portfolio of programs including Groceries (food pantry network with home delivery), Meals on Wheels (daily meal delivery), and Pop Up Food Shares (mobile food distribution). Additional services include the Hunger Hub (resource connection), Teaching Kitchen (nutrition education), and Room Rentals (facility rentals). The organization operates the largest network of food pantries in North Carolina serving Mecklenburg County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Groceries (Food Pantry Program & Home Delivery) Free grocery assistance for food-insecure Mecklenburg County residents, delivered through North Carolina's largest food pantry network (in-person pick-up sites) and home grocery delivery reaching hundreds of people daily in Charlotte Mecklenburg.
• Meals on Wheels Free weekday meal delivery to homebound individuals in Charlotte Mecklenburg, delivered by volunteer drivers; serves hundreds of people daily.
• Pop Up Food Shares Periodic mobile food distribution events that provide free food assistance to community members at temporary sites across Mecklenburg County.
• Hunger Hub Centralized resource program that connects food-insecure individuals and families to Nourish Up food programs and additional community social services.
• Teaching Kitchen Educational program that teaches cooking and nutrition skills to help community members make the most of available food resources, especially those received from food pantries.
• Room Rentals Rental program offering the organization's facilities and meeting/event spaces to community members and partner organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 169,099 groceries received in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Second Harvest Food BankcoreOthersSecond Harvest Food Bank is featured in the organization's logo section, indicating a foundational partnership in the food banking and distribution network.
• United WaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Way logo appears in the footer, indicating a significant nonprofit partnership for community impact and resource coordination.
• CandidminorOthersCandid provides the Platinum transparency seal for 2025, certifying the organization's nonprofit transparency standards.
• Charity NavigatorminorOthersCharity Navigator provides organizational rating/certification for responsible nonprofit management.
• BellaworksminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWebsite development company credited for site design, indicating a vendor/partnership for digital infrastructure.
• RGB (Regional Benefits Group)minorOthersRGB member badge for 2026 appears on the website, indicating membership in a regional nonprofit benefits network.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National network of 200+ food banks, the largest hunger-relief organization in the U.S. Nourish Up connects into this ecosystem via Second Harvest and serves a comparable mission; comparable as the sector-defining incumbent.
• Meals on Wheels America: National umbrella organization for the Meals on Wheels network. Nourish Up inherits the Friendship Trays Meals on Wheels legacy program and operates comparable weekday home-delivered meal service to homebound seniors.

Regional players

• Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina: Large NC-based food bank operating across a 34-county service area. Comparable as a fellow state-leading food bank distributing groceries through pantries and partner agencies in North Carolina communities.
• Daily Bread Food Bank: Jacksonville, FL food bank distributing groceries through partner pantries and direct programs. Comparable regional food bank with similar pantry distribution model and mission focus on food insecurity.
• MANNA FoodBank: Western North Carolina's largest food bank, providing groceries and nutrition programming across a comparable regional footprint. Same statewide food banking operating model and food-insecurity mission in a different NC region.

Direct peers

• Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina: Regional food bank serving the same Charlotte-Mecklenburg geography, sourcing and distributing food to partner pantries. Listed as Nourish Up's core partnership, making it both collaborator and the upstream wholesaler most comparable in mission and geography.
• Capital Area Food Bank: Washington D.C. metro food bank providing groceries, meal distribution, and nutrition education. Closely mirrors Nourish Up's combination of food pantry network, home delivery, and educational programs.
• Atlanta Community Food Bank: Large Southeastern metropolitan food bank distributing food through partner pantries and direct programs, very comparable operating model to Nourish Up across grocery distribution, nutrition education, and partner-agency networks.
• Foodlink (Rochester): Regional food bank serving the Rochester, NY region, distributing food via mobile pantries and partner agencies. Comparable operating model combining distribution, nutrition education, and direct-to-neighbor programming.

Others

• United Way of Central Carolinas: Regional United Way affiliate that channels workplace giving and grant dollars to local nonprofits like Nourish Up. Not a direct peer but a critical funder and ecosystem partner with stakes in the same community outcomes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nourishup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nourish-up
• Facebookfacebook.com/nourishupcharlotte
• Instagraminstagram.com/nourishupclt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Loaves and Fishes