Lemontree Foods

What Lemontree Foods does

Lemontree Foods Inc. is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 and headquartered in New York, operating the Food Helpline platform that connects food-insecure individuals and families with nearby free food resources. The core product is a two-sided web and SMS directory (short-code 90847) covering food pantries, soup kitchens, and SNAP/EBT benefits across 11 US cities, with separate portal experiences for Neighbors, Community Partners, and Corporate Volunteers. Technical architecture is built around three distinct web properties (foodhelpline.org, platform.foodhelpline.org, volunteer.foodhelpline.org), a user account system with favorites and review functionality, and SMS short-code delivery, with partner data hosted on Amazon S3 (lemontree-feed-photos). The matching layer is described as location-and-need-based personalization rather than a disclosed AI/ML system. Revenue is generated through charitable donations, with the public framing that $1 donated can unlock $8 in free groceries; the consumer-side service is free and confidential. The organization has a Candid (GuideStar) transparency seal, claims to have helped 900,000+ families since inception, and serves roughly 17,198 households per day through its referral flow.

Name

Lemontree Foods

Legal name

Lemontree Foods Inc.

Website

https://lemontreefoods.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lemontree Foods is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating the Food Helpline platform, which connects food-insecure households with nearby food pantries, soup kitchens, and SNAP benefits across 11 US cities via web and SMS short-code 90847.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Assistance 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

Food Assistance & Safety Nets (In-Kind, Vouchers, Cash Transfers) (BPADAJAA)

Keywords

• Food assistance platform
• Food pantry matching
• SNAP enrollment help
• Soup kitchen locator
• Food insecurity support

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals and organizations. The platform leverages a funding model where $1 donated can unlock $8 in free groceries for neighbors in need.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lemontree Foods operates the Food Helpline, a free SMS- and web-based platform that connects food-insecure individuals and families with nearby free food resources including food pantries, soup kitchens, and SNAP benefits. Users register via text (90847) or website and receive personalized recommendations for free groceries, hot meals, and grocery money assistance across 11 major U.S. cities.

Product overview

Lemontree Foods operates Food Helpline as a unified platform that helps users access free food resources through a simple registration and matching system. The platform consists of a consumer-facing web application and SMS-based service (text 90847) that provides personalized recommendations for food pantries, soup kitchens, and SNAP assistance across multiple U.S. cities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Helpline

Quantifiable outcome

• 900,000+ families have found free food with Lemontree
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Food Pantries NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThousands of food pantry partners across 11 US cities providing free groceries to food-insecure families. Lemontree connects users to these partners and provides them with a platform to manage their listings and track impact.
• Soup Kitchens NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with soup kitchens providing hot meals to communities. Lemontree serves as a referral channel connecting food-insecure individuals to soup kitchen locations.
• SNAP Benefits AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help users access SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and grocery money assistance.
• Corporate Volunteer PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 30 corporate partners engage employees in volunteer activities through Lemontree's platform, offering events and engagement opportunities for corporate teams.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FoodFinder: FoodFinder is a direct peer: a digital platform that connects food-insecure individuals with nearby free food resources via a website and app. It competes head-to-head with Lemontree's Food Helpline on referral matching, geographic coverage, and donor-funded sustainability.
• Plentiful: Plentiful is a direct peer offering a reservation system for food pantries and a search platform for free food. It shares Lemontree's core thesis of reducing friction in accessing emergency food and serves overlapping end users.

Broad incumbents

• findhelp (formerly Aunt Bertha): findhelp is a broad incumbent social-care referral network covering food, housing, and other assistance programs. It overlaps with Lemontree's pantry/SNAP referral use cases but operates at much larger scale and across a broader benefit category.
• Feeding America: Feeding America is the largest US hunger-relief organization, operating a nationwide network of food banks. While not a tech platform, it shapes the supply of food pantries and soup kitchens that Lemontree's users are referred to, making it a structural incumbent in the ecosystem.
• 211: 211 is a nationally recognized social-services helpline connecting callers to food, housing, and other assistance. It is a broad incumbent alternative for users seeking food resources and overlaps with Lemontree's referral mission, though it covers a wider benefit set.
• Share Our Strength: Share Our Strength operates the No Kid Hungry campaign and funds anti-hunger programs nationally. It is an adjacent incumbent addressing overlapping populations and competes with Lemontree for donor mindshare in the food-insecurity space.

Emerging players

• WhyHunger: WhyHunger maintains the National Hunger Hotline and food-resource directories, overlapping with Lemontree's helpline-style service. It is thematically aligned but operates a different delivery model (hotline + advocacy) versus Lemontree's SMS matching platform.
• No Kid Hungry: No Kid Hungry is a national nonprofit campaign focused on childhood food insecurity, funding school meal programs and food access initiatives. It shares Lemontree's mission orientation and donor base but operates through programmatic grants rather than a consumer referral platform.

Regional players

• Food Bank For New York City: Food Bank For New York City is a regional hunger-relief nonprofit sourcing and distributing food across the five boroughs. It is one of the partner organizations whose capacity underpins Lemontree's NYC service, making it a key supply-side peer.

Others

• Benefits.gov: Benefits.gov is the federal government's official benefits portal, including SNAP. It is an enabling/adjoining resource that Lemontree complements for SNAP enrollment, but does not compete directly as a community-driven food-matching platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

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 Lemontree Foods