St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance

What St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance does

St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, founded in 1967 as the world's first food bank. The organization alleviates food insecurity across Arizona, distributing 250,000–300,000 meals daily, six days a week, through a multi-channel architecture that includes 600+ nonprofit partner agencies, two neighborhood food centers (Phoenix and Surprise), home delivery service across Maricopa, Yavapai, and Pinal Counties, and children's summer feeding programs. In addition to food distribution, the organization operates a Skills Center that delivers job training in warehouse logistics and food service, and supports digital tools including the azfoodhelp.org food locator and the smfbpartner.org partner agency portal.

The business model is a donations-and-charitable-contributions model with no pricing to recipients. Revenue is generated through individual donations, corporate partnerships (e.g., Earnhardt Auto Centers, Fry's Community Rewards), foundation grants, in-kind food donations, and Arizona's charitable tax credit program. St. Mary's is an affiliate of Feeding America, the national hunger-relief network, which provides procurement leverage and shared best practices. The go-to-market motion is community-led, centered on volunteer mobilization, grassroots food and fund drives, and a multi-channel digital presence spanning Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The customer segments served include families and individuals experiencing food insecurity, children in summer meal programs, and — increasingly — SNAP recipients who have lost federal benefits, with visits up 15% on the back of recent policy changes.

Name

St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance

Legal name

St. Mary's Food Bank

Website

https://firstfoodbank.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance is a Phoenix-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1967 as the world's first food bank, distributing 250,000–300,000 meals daily across Arizona through 600+ partner agencies, neighborhood food centers, home delivery, and children's feeding programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: St. Mary's Food Bank operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity generating revenue primarily through monetary donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The organization receives food donations from various sources and converts contributions into meal equivalents for distribution to those in need.
2. Arizona Charitable Tax Credit: The organization participates in Arizona's charitable tax credit program, allowing donors to receive state tax credits for contributions, providing a financial incentive for donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance is a nonprofit hunger-relief organization that collects, warehouses, and distributes food to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity across Maricopa, Yavapai, and Pinal Counties in Arizona. It distributes approximately 250,000–300,000 meals daily through 600+ nonprofit partner agencies, direct distribution sites, and home delivery services, while also operating children's feeding programs and a job-training Skills Center.

Product overview

St. Mary's Food Bank of Arizona operates as a nonprofit food assistance organization offering a portfolio of interconnected services. The core offerings include Food Distribution (partnering with 600+ nonprofits), Children's Feeding Programs (filling meal gaps for children), and a Skills Center (job training in warehouse logistics and food service). Supporting services include azfoodhelp.org for food location, Home Delivery for Maricopa/Yavapai/Pinal counties, and a Partner Agency Portal. The organization distributes approximately 300,000 meals daily through six days of weekly operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Distribution Program Core food distribution service that partners with more than 600 nonprofit organizations across Arizona to ensure individuals and families in need have access to food through a multi-county network.
• Children's Feeding Programs Programs that address childhood hunger by filling gaps when school meals are unavailable, particularly during summer vacation and school breaks.
• Skills Center Job training program equipping adults in need with skills in warehouse logistics and food service to remove barriers to employment.
• Home Delivery Service Emergency food box delivery service that brings food directly to the doors of homebound residents in Maricopa, Yavapai, and Pinal Counties.
• azfoodhelp.org (Find Food Near Me) Online food locator tool enabling users to search by ZIP code to find nearby food assistance locations and resources across Arizona.
• Partner Agency Portal (smfbpartner.org) Online portal that enables 600+ partner nonprofit agencies to coordinate food distribution and access operational resources from St. Mary's.

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributes 250,000-300,000 meals daily, six days a week
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

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 minor and core.

• Earnhardt Auto CentersminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 June 2026Earnhardt Auto Centers and the Earnhardt Family donated $22,500 to St. Mary's Food Bank on June 17, 2026, equivalent to 75,000 meals and 75,000 water bottles, as part of the company's 75th anniversary celebration. The donation supports food insecurity efforts in the Phoenix, Arizona area.
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Mary's Food Bank is affiliated with Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. This partnership provides access to national resources, best practices, and a broader network of food banks across the United States.
• Partner Agencies (600+ nonprofits)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSt. Mary's Food Bank partners with over 600 nonprofit organizations across Arizona to ensure Arizonans in need have access to food. These partner agencies receive food from the food bank and distribute it to their local communities.
• Fry's Community RewardsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership program allowing Fry's grocery store shoppers to support St. Mary's Food Bank through community rewards, enabling customers to contribute to the organization while shopping.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: The national umbrella network of which St. Mary's is an affiliate. Directly comparable as the dominant national hunger-relief organization, though it operates as a federation/coordinator rather than a single distribution site.

Direct peers

• United Food Bank: Mesa, Arizona-based Feeding America affiliate operating the same food bank model in the same state. Most directly comparable peer given shared geography, mission, and network affiliation.
• Houston Food Bank: One of the largest food banks in the U.S., distributing on a similar scale (~1M meals/day at peak). Directly comparable in operational model, partner agency network, and multi-channel distribution.
• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank: Large-scale Feeding America affiliate serving Southern California with comparable partner agency model and multi-county distribution footprint. Highly analogous in scale and beneficiary base.
• Greater Chicago Food Depository: Chicago-area food bank distributing on a comparable scale with a similar partner agency distribution model. Directly comparable in urban-coverage mission and Feeding America network affiliation.
• Food Bank for New York City: Large urban food bank serving NYC boroughs via partner pantries and direct distribution. Comparable mission, model, and reliance on a dense partner agency network.
• Gleaners Community Food Bank: Indiana-based Feeding America affiliate with comparable partner-driven distribution, food sourcing, and community programming model.
• Foodshare: Connecticut's regional food bank operating a comparable partner agency distribution model. Directly comparable in mission, scale, and Feeding America network affiliation.

Regional players

• St. Vincent de Paul Phoenix: Phoenix-area nonprofit providing overlapping food, housing, and social services. Comparable as a regional social-services competitor serving overlapping client populations in the same geography.
• Desert Mission Food Bank: Phoenix-area food assistance program operated by HonorHealth. Comparable as a regional food bank serving overlapping Maricopa County populations, though smaller in scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StMarysFoodBank
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/smfba
• Facebookfacebook.com/firstfoodbank
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stmarys-foodbank
• Instagraminstagram.com/stmarysfoodbank

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance