What AmpleHarvest.org does

AmpleHarvest.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by Gary Oppenheimer that operates a free, opt-in, nationwide web-based registry connecting home and community gardeners with local food pantries to redirect surplus fresh produce to food-insecure families. The platform serves three user groups at no cost: the 61+ million American backyard and community gardeners who generate surplus produce, an estimated 32,500+ local food pantries that receive the donations, and the roughly 42 million food-insecure Americans who ultimately consume the produce. The underlying technology includes Google Maps integration for location-based pantry search, a "just-in-Time" donation logic system that lets pantries specify preferred day/time windows so produce moves garden-to-table within hours without requiring refrigeration, dynamic pantry listings where operators can update needs and schedules in real time, and a USDA-zone-based Local Harvest Awareness feature that informs pantries about regional seasonality.

The organization's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on partnerships with USDA (95,000 Master Gardeners), faith communities (which house ~70% of US food pantries), AARP, VFW, Feeding America, the National Gardening Association, and earned media (CNN Heroes, PBS, TEDx, HuffPost). It has no traditional sales motion and no pricing model — all services are free. Operating revenue is generated through individual donations ($10–$500 tiers plus recurring), corporate sponsorships (including state-level pantry sponsorships at $10,000+), and significant in-kind support, most notably Google providing approximately $40,000 per month in AdWords and Bonnie Plants underwriting the website technology. The organization operates with an ultra-lean staff of approximately four people supported by a Board of Trustees, indicating a high-leverage model where mission-critical functions are funded through partnerships rather than headcount expansion.

Name

AmpleHarvest.org

Legal name

AmpleHarvest.org, Inc.

Website

https://ampleharvest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AmpleHarvest.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a free nationwide web registry that connects America's 61+ million home gardeners with 8,535 local food pantries across all 50 states, enabling just-in-time donation of surplus fresh produce to reduce food waste and hunger.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newfoundland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute monetary gifts at various levels ($10, $18, $25, $50, $120, $500) with options for one-time or recurring monthly donations. Donations help fund registry maintenance, outreach programs, and public awareness campaigns.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Companies can sponsor pantry listings, create cause marketing campaigns, provide in-kind donations (marketing, technology, professional services), or match employee donations. Companies donating at least $10,000 can sponsor all food pantry listings in their home state.
3. In-Kind Support: Google provides approximately $40,000 per month worth of public awareness and education through AdWords. Bonnie Plants provided website development. These in-kind contributions significantly reduce operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AmpleHarvest.org operates a free, opt-in, nationwide web-based registry platform that connects 61+ million American home and community gardeners with 8,535 local food pantries across all 50 states, enabling gardeners to donate surplus fresh produce directly to nearby pantries. The platform uses a just-in-time inventory logic system that allows food pantries to receive fresh produce on the days and times they specify, with food moving from garden to dinner table within hours and without requiring refrigerated storage. All services are free for gardeners, food pantries, and families seeking food assistance, with the organization sustained entirely by charitable donations, corporate sponsorships, and in-kind contributions.

Product overview

AmpleHarvest.org operates as a nonprofit technology platform connecting American home gardeners with local food pantries to reduce food waste and hunger. The core product is the AmpleHarvest.org Platform—a free, opt-in nationwide registry that enables gardeners to find nearby pantries accepting fresh produce donations. Supporting products include the Find Food Tool (for families seeking assistance), Find Pantry Tool (for gardeners to locate donation sites), Pantry Registration System, and Donation Platform. Add-on educational resources include ProducePedia (a guide to fresh produce) and specialized programs such as Faith Fights Food Waste (for clergy) and AmpleHarvest.org In Indian Country (for Native American communities).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Faith Fights Food Waste: An educational program from AmpleHarvest.org that helps the clergy of all faiths learn about food waste and enables them to give sermons on the issue. Formerly known as Food Waste Weekend.
• AmpleHarvest.org In Indian Country
• Centerpieces for Pantries

Products and services

• AmpleHarvest.org Platform A free, opt-in, nationwide web-based registry that enables gardeners who've grown too much food to easily find food pantries in their area. The platform connects 61+ million American home gardeners with 8,535 registered food pantries across all 50 states to reduce food waste and hunger.
• ProducePedia A free educational resource covering types of fresh produce that can be delivered to food pantries. Each entry includes information on color, taste, and possible uses, helping pantry clients learn how to use unfamiliar vegetables and fruits they receive from gardeners.
• Faith Fights Food Waste An educational program that helps clergy of all faiths learn about food waste and enables them to give sermons on the issue. The program allows clergy of different faiths to give faith-specific sermons all on the same issue and same weekend.
• AmpleHarvest.org In Indian Country An adapted version of the AmpleHarvest.org model designed for Native American reservations, addressing unique circumstances including lack of traditional street addresses or zip codes, limited internet access, and respecting National sovereignty.
• Free Government Toolkit A free toolkit designed for local, county, and state government officials to strengthen community hunger-relief networks and boost fresh food donations across all 50 states.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 billion pounds of fresh garden produce eliminated from annual food waste
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Gardening AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 August 2009National Gardening Association partnered in August 2009 to help inform their members about the AmpleHarvest.org campaign, reaching gardeners nationwide.
• Bonnie PlantscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBonnie Plants provided the website development for the brand new AmpleHarvest.org website and technology platform. Also supported the Indian Country program rollout.
• AARPcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWorking with AARP to educate, encourage and enable more gardeners to donate surplus food from gardens to their neighbors in need.
• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint campaign with VFW focused on helping more people become aware of the impact of donated fresh food on America's veterans and their families.
• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerUSDA has been helping to promote AmpleHarvest.org to America's 95,000 Master Gardeners as part of their extension services.
• National Council of ChurchescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWorking together to help more food pantries housed in local churches become aware of and register at AmpleHarvest.org.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerEPA has been working together to help educate Americans on the environmental impact of wasted food. AmpleHarvest.org was listed by EPA as a food rescue resource in 2010.
• Green Education FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWorking together to encourage children to learn to grow food to be donated to pantries as part of the 'Plant With A Purpose' program.
• Campus KitchensminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborations focused on helping more children and teenagers learn about healthy eating and have or create access to fresh produce.
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmpleHarvest.org works with nearly every food bank in America as well as with Feeding America itself. The partnership enables food banks to reduce operational costs by diverting small-volume direct donations to local pantries.
• Home DepotminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed among collaborators/partners. Gardeners are encouraged to post fliers at Home Depot garden sections.
• Gardener's Supply CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed among collaborators/partners supporting AmpleHarvest.org.
• Let's Move! InitiativecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWorked together with Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to enable healthier eating for millions of people by providing access to healthy food that would otherwise be unaffordable.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Food Rescue US: National nonprofit platform connecting food donors (restaurants, grocers, caterers) with local nonprofits that feed the food insecure. Highly comparable model of last-mile food donation matching via a free, location-based registry, though focused on commercial donors rather than home gardeners.
• WhyHunger: National nonprofit operating a hotline and directory connecting people in need with local food assistance resources. Closely comparable in operating a free national directory service linking food-insecure individuals to nearby assistance, though delivered via hotline rather than web-based gardener-to-pantry matching.
• FoodCloud: Global food donation platform connecting retailers and food businesses with charities in real time via app and software. Directly comparable in solving food waste through a donor-to-charity matching technology layer, though focused on commercial food businesses rather than individual gardeners.
• Olio: Peer-to-peer food sharing app enabling individuals to share surplus food with neighbors. Highly comparable in enabling individuals (rather than businesses) to donate surplus food to those who can use it, though using a peer-to-peer rather than donor-to-pantry model.
• Too Good To Go: Global app connecting consumers with restaurants and stores that have surplus food to sell at discounted prices. Comparable food-waste-to-feeding mission via a mobile app, though using a commercial surplus model rather than free donation.
• 412 Food Rescue: Pittsburgh-based nonprofit using an app to connect food donors with nonprofits that distribute food to those in need. Directly comparable technology-mediated food rescue model, though operating at a regional scale and focused on commercial donors.
• Farmlink Project: Nonprofit that connects surplus produce from farms with food banks nationwide. Closely comparable mission of moving excess agricultural produce to food-insecure communities, though sourced from commercial farms rather than home/community gardens.

Emerging players

• Goodr: Technology company providing food waste tracking and surplus food redistribution services for businesses. Adjacent mission of reducing food waste through technology, but focused on enterprise/commercial food waste tracking rather than individual-to-pantry donation matching.
• Misfits Market: Online grocer delivering surplus and 'ugly' produce directly to consumers. Adjacent mission of addressing food waste by moving surplus produce to consumers, but operates as a commercial subscription grocery business rather than a donation platform serving food pantries.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: Largest US hunger-relief nonprofit operating a nationwide network of 200+ food banks and 60,000+ food pantries. Comparable mission and overlapping partner pantries, but operates as a large-scale logistics and food distribution incumbent rather than a donation-matching registry; AmpleHarvest.org partners with Feeding America rather than competing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ampleharvest
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/AmpleHarvestorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ampleharvest.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ampleharvest-org
• Instagraminstagram.com/ampleharvest
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ampleharvestorg
• TikToktiktok.com/@ampleharvest?lang=en

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 AmpleHarvest.org