The Camden Promise

What The Camden Promise does

The Camden Promise is a non-profit community food shelf and social services organization operating from Gethsemane Lutheran Church at 4656 Colfax Ave N in North Minneapolis. It serves food-insecure families and individuals in the Camden community through a Client Choice Food Shelf model, where visitors select their own food items using a point-value system (7 points per visit, most items at 1 point), with no appointment or income verification required. The organization distributes over 120,000 lbs of food annually to more than 15,000 people per month, and also operates daily warm meals Monday through Sunday, a Friday BBQ, and a clothing closet offering donated garments.

The organization's supply chain is diversified across multiple food bank partnerships and rescue operations, including participating-agency relationships with Second Harvest Heartland and Minnesota Food Group, and daily food collection from 5 food rescue locations across the Twin Cities. The core technology is a manual point-value tracking system for the client choice model; the digital footprint consists of a Squarespace-hosted website, email newsletter, and social media presence. Marketing and outreach are grassroots-driven, relying on word-of-mouth referrals, community partnerships, and earned media coverage in outlets such as Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, and CBS Minnesota.

The business model is donation-supported rather than revenue-generating. The Camden Promise operates as a ministry under Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church and is funded through charitable contributions, congregation donations, external foundation grants (including ECMC Foundation), in-kind food donations, and volunteer labor. The organization serves any community member in need without charge, with no pricing structure or service fees, and relies on a 1-10 person staff supported by an extensive volunteer base to operate daily distribution and meal services.

Name

The Camden Promise

Legal name

The Camden Promise

Website

https://thecamdenpromise.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Camden Promise is a non-profit Client Choice food shelf in North Minneapolis serving over 15,000 people monthly with nutritious food, daily warm meals, and clothing. Operated from Gethsemane Lutheran Church, it relies on donations and food bank partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization operates as a non-profit charitable entity supported entirely by donations from the community, congregation members, and external supporters. No revenue is generated from sales or service fees.
2. Food Donations and Rescue: Receives food donations through partnerships with Second Harvest and Minnesota Food Group, supplemented by bulk purchasing at discounted rates. Collects food daily from 5 food rescue locations in the Twin Cities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Camden Promise runs a Client Choice Food Shelf that lets North Minneapolis families select their own food using a 7-point-per-visit point system, along with daily warm meals (Monday–Sunday), a weekly Friday BBQ, and a Clothing Shelf. All services are delivered at no cost to community members, with no appointment and no income verification required.

Product overview

The Camden Promise operates as a community-based food shelf and social services organization offering four core programs: a Client Choice Food Shelf (serving over 15,000 people monthly with over 120,000 lbs of food), Daily Meals (warm meals served Monday through Sunday), Friday BBQ, and a Clothing Shelf. The organization operates from Gethsemane Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis and serves the Camden Community with a focus on alleviating food insecurity while preserving client dignity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Shelf A Client Choice Food Shelf that lets clients select food items using a 7-point-per-visit point-value system, serving over 15,000 people per month and distributing more than 120,000 lbs of food annually to families in the Camden community.
• Daily Warm Meals Warm meals served daily Monday through Sunday from 11:30am to 1pm, offering a hot meal, dessert, and beverage for on-site consumption to community members.
• Friday BBQ Weekly Friday barbecue program providing hot food and community engagement for North Minneapolis residents.
• Clothing Shelf Clothing closet that lets clients select gently used and new clothing at the same location as the food shelf, sourced from congregation members and their friends.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves over 15,000 people per month
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 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.

• Gethsemane Lutheran ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2020Gethsemane Lutheran Church is the founding partner and host location for The Camden Promise. On November 6, 2020, both organizations broke ground together on the future home of The Gethsemane Farmers Market. The church provides the physical location and deep faith-based community connections that anchor the food shelf operations.
• Second Harvest HeartlandcoreOthersAs a Second Harvest participating agency, The Camden Promise receives additional food donations and access to bulk purchasing programs at discounted rates. Second Harvest is one of the largest food banks in the region.
• Minnesota Food GroupcoreOthersAs a Minnesota Food Group participating agency, the organization receives additional donations and can purchase bulk discounted food to supplement their food supply. Minnesota Food Group supports food shelves across the state.
• 5 Food Rescue Locations in Twin CitiesminorOthersThe organization collects food daily from 5 food rescue locations across the Twin Cities metropolitan area, redirecting surplus food to families in need.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Open Arms of Minnesota: Twin Cities nonprofit that prepares and delivers free, nutritious meals to people living with serious illnesses; comparable as a community-based meal charity serving vulnerable Minneapolis populations through donated food and volunteer labor.
• Loaves & Fishes Minnesota: Twin Cities nonprofit serving free, healthy meals to anyone who comes through the door; directly comparable to The Camden Promise's daily warm meals program in mission, walk-in distribution model, and donor-supported funding approach.

Regional players

• Pillsbury United Communities: Minneapolis-based nonprofit operating community hubs across North Minneapolis including food access programming; comparable as a North Minneapolis-focused community services operator with overlapping food security and basic-needs programming.
• Hallie Q. Brown Community Center: Saint Paul community center offering food shelf, hot meals, and basic needs support to families in need; comparable as a small-team, donation-supported community services organization serving a defined urban geography.
• Sabathani Community Center: South Minneapolis community center providing food shelf, meals, and basic needs services; comparable as a neighborhood-rooted, church-adjacent nonprofit offering a similar bundle of food assistance plus wraparound services.

Broad incumbents

• Second Harvest Heartland: One of the largest food banks in the Upper Midwest and a current supply partner to The Camden Promise; comparable as an upstream food distribution operator in the same Minnesota food assistance ecosystem, though at vastly larger scale.
• The Food Group (Minnesota Food Group): Minnesota food bank that supplies food shelves across the state, including Camden Promise; comparable as a wholesale-style hunger-relief operator in the same food assistance value chain but operating at a regional rather than neighborhood scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-camden-promise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Camden Promise