Forgotten Harvest

Name

Forgotten Harvest

Legal name

Forgotten Harvest

Website

https://forgottenharvest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Services (Donation, Animal Feed, Source Reduction Programs) (EUAIAEAH)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Food redistribution
• Hunger relief programs
• Community food distribution
• Nonprofit food assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Monetary Donations: Individual donors contribute money to support food rescue operations. Every $1 donated provides $7 worth of groceries or enough food for four meals. The organization also runs Virtual Food Drives.
2. Corporate and Foundation Grants & Sponsorships: Corporate partners, organizations, and foundations provide funding, grants, and sponsorships for programs such as the Children's Summer Lunch Program and the Feeding Detroit Together benefit event.
3. Government Grants: Government funding supports programs such as the USDA Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
4. Merchandise Sales: The organization operates a Harvest Shop (Brightsites-powered storefront) selling merchandise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Forgotten Harvest collects surplus food from over 560 donors spanning the food supply chain and redistributes it free of charge to more than 220 community feeding agencies across Metro Detroit, averaging roughly 144,000 pounds of food delivered daily. The organization supplements this core rescue-and-redistribution activity with targeted programs for children, seniors, and partner agencies, plus on-site farm production and a volunteer engagement program.

Product overview

Forgotten Harvest operates as a food rescue nonprofit organization, not a traditional product company. Their primary offering is food rescue and redistribution service, supplemented by multiple community programs including Harvest Heroes volunteer rescue routes, FH on the Go mobile pantries, Client Choice Mobile Markets, Forgotten Harvest Farms (95-acre produce farm), Children's Summer Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, Healthy Food Healthy Seniors, Agency Capacity Grant Program, Seed to Feed monthly giving, and Virtual Food Drive. They also maintain an e-commerce Harvest Shop for merchandise. All food distribution programs operate free of charge to recipients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Forgotten Harvest Farms: 95 acres of farmland in Fenton, MI maintained by dedicated farm staff and volunteers to bring fresh produce to metro Detroiters in need.
• Seed to Feed
• Harvest Heroes
• Client Choice Mobile Markets

Products and services

• Food Rescue and Redistribution (Core Service) Core daily service that collects surplus edible food from a network of over 560 food donors (farms, processors, distributors, retailers, restaurants) and distributes it at no cost to more than 220 community feeding agencies in Metro Detroit, averaging roughly 144,000 pounds of food delivered per day.
• FH on the Go Mobile food distribution program that brings rescued food directly into under-served neighborhoods, supplementing fixed-site pantries with neighborhood-based access points.
• Client Choice Mobile Markets Mobile market that lets recipients choose food items themselves rather than receiving pre-packed boxes, supporting client dignity and choice at distribution.
• Forgotten Harvest Farms On-site farm operation that grows fresh produce to supplement rescued food and increase the share of fresh, local produce in the food distributed to the community.
• Children's Summer Lunch Program Program that provides free meals to school-aged children during summer break, when they would otherwise lose access to school-meal programs.
• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) USDA-sponsored summer feeding program operated in conjunction with the Children's Summer Lunch Program, delivering free summer meals through approved community feeding sites.
• Healthy Food Healthy Seniors Program providing nutritious food tailored to the dietary needs of low-income older adults in Metro Detroit.
• Agency Capacity Grant Program Grant program that funds capacity building at partner community feeding agencies to strengthen the broader hunger relief ecosystem in Metro Detroit.
• Seed to Feed Community gardening program that engages volunteers and partner gardens in growing produce that supports the food rescue mission.
• Virtual Food Drive Online donation platform that allows individuals, groups, and organizations to make monetary contributions that fund equivalent pounds of food for distribution.
• Harvest Shop Online merchandise storefront that sells branded apparel and goods as a fundraising channel for the organization.
• Harvest Heroes (Volunteer Program) Structured volunteer engagement program that recruits and deploys community members, corporate groups, and individuals to support sorting, packing, and distribution activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 144,000 pounds of surplus food delivered per day; 48 million pounds projected annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CreatiocoreTechnology or Integration · 11 March 2026Creatio's Agentic CRM platform was implemented by Forgotten Harvest in three months (delivered by Qnovate), reducing manual operational effort by more than 75% and cutting weekly operations time by approximately 80%. The unified system supports intake, scheduling, partner coordination, and reporting workflows, enabling the organization to scale home food delivery capacity without adding staff.
• QnovatecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 March 2026Technology partner that delivered the Creatio Agentic CRM platform implementation for Forgotten Harvest, completing the project in three months.
• Busch's Fresh Food MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Busch's Fresh Food Market holds an annual Spring Milk Drive (March 9-22) with a goal of 53,000 gallons for local food banks. Since the program launched in 2015 in partnership with United Dairy Industry of Michigan, shoppers have donated 825,983 gallons of milk and raised more than $284,000. In 2025 alone, 107,648 gallons were contributed. Each of Busch's 16 Southeast Michigan stores sets individual donation goals.
• Lineage Foundation for GoodcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 April 2024Lineage Foundation for Good presented the inaugural Feeding Detroit Together benefit event for Forgotten Harvest on April 12, 2024, held at MGM Grand Detroit. The event raised over $295,000 (equivalent to 1,180,000 meals) through stand-up comedy, speed painting, a meal, and dancing.
• United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUDIM co-sponsors the annual Busch's Fresh Food Market Spring Milk Drive, which has collected over 825,983 gallons of milk since 2015.
• Food GatherersminorOthersOne of the local food banks benefiting from the Busch's Spring Milk Drive alongside Forgotten Harvest, Gleaners Community Food Bank, and South Michigan Food Bank.
• Gleaners Community Food BankminorOthersOne of the local food banks benefiting from the Busch's Spring Milk Drive alongside Forgotten Harvest, Food Gatherers, and South Michigan Food Bank.
• South Michigan Food BankminorOthersOne of the local food banks benefiting from the Busch's Spring Milk Drive alongside Forgotten Harvest, Food Gatherers, and Gleaners Community Food Bank.
• Koppert Biological SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2015, Koppert Biological Systems has donated several bumble bee hives to Forgotten Harvest Farms each year to support crop pollination.
• Heffernan's Honey and Beekeeping SuppliesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeffernan's initially placed 15 honey bee hives on Forgotten Harvest Farms property in Fenton, MI, with plans to add 35 more (total 50) to support pollination of hundreds of thousands of flowering plants across 95 acres. The partnership also includes honey production for sale and education programming.
• Feed AmericaminorOthersForgotten Harvest is a member of Feed America, the nation's largest hunger relief organization.
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)coreOthersThe USDA manages the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), through which Forgotten Harvest serves as a sponsoring organization working with the Michigan Department of Education to distribute free breakfasts and lunches to children in low-income areas during summer months.
• Michigan Department of Education (MDE)coreOthersThe MDE contracts with a meal provider vendor through Forgotten Harvest (as sponsoring organization) for the USDA SFSP program, enabling distribution of over 12,000 breakfasts and 27,000 lunches to children during summer.
• Ancor AutomotiveminorOthersCorporate volunteer partner that sends groups of employees to Forgotten Harvest's 8 Mile campus multiple times per year for food sorting volunteer shifts.
• Fresh ThymeminorOthersGrocery store donor partner in Forgotten Harvest's Harvest Heroes volunteer rescue program, donating surplus food (e.g., yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, produce) for rescue route delivery to partner pantries.
• AldiminorOthersGrocery store donor partner in Forgotten Harvest's Harvest Heroes volunteer rescue program, donating surplus food for rescue route delivery to partner pantries.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gleaners Community Food Bank: Southeast Michigan's largest food bank headquartered in Detroit; directly comparable food-rescue and redistribution nonprofit serving overlapping tri-county geography and co-benefitting from corporate partnerships like the Busch's Spring Milk Drive.
• Food Gatherers: Ann Arbor-based food rescue and hunger-relief nonprofit operating across Washtenaw County; runs food rescue, mobile pantries, and direct distribution with similar donor and volunteer models to Forgotten Harvest.
• City Harvest: New York City's largest food rescue organization operating mobile markets and direct distributions to a broad nonprofit network; tightly comparable operating model including surplus food rescue, agency distribution, and mobile pantry programming.
• Capital Area Food Bank: Washington DC-area food bank serving a multi-county metro region with food sourcing, distribution, and direct-service nutrition programs; comparable scale and operating model with metropolitan tri-county service area.
• Philabundance: Greater Philadelphia food rescue and hunger-relief organization operating food sourcing, agency distribution, and direct-to-neighbor programs; comparable scope across a multi-county metropolitan service area.
• Second Harvest Heartland: Minneapolis-area food bank serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin with food rescue, distribution, and direct-service nutrition programs; comparable urban-focused food-rescue model.
• Foodlink: Rochester, NY-based regional food bank and food-rescue nonprofit operating a community kitchen, mobile pantries, and direct distribution; tightly comparable operating scope.
• Food Bank for New York City: NYC hunger-relief organization operating food sourcing, pantry and direct-service distribution; comparable nonprofit food-rescue and redistribution operating model in a large metro market.

Regional players

• Food Bank of Eastern Michigan: Flint-based food bank serving 23 counties in eastern Michigan with food sourcing, distribution, and direct-service programs; comparable mission and donor base though serving a non-overlapping primary territory.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National hunger-relief umbrella organization of which Forgotten Harvest is a member; not a direct competitor but provides shared infrastructure, sourcing relationships, and policy advocacy that shape the operating environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/forgottenharvest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Forgotten Harvest