Ballard Food Bank

What Ballard Food Bank does

Ballard Food Bank is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 91-1428805), headquartered at 1400 NW Leary Way in the Ballard neighborhood, that delivers hunger relief and wraparound social services to anyone in Seattle free of charge. Its core operating model, branded 'Hub for Hope,' integrates a grocery store-style Community Market, the Kindness Café (hot meals led by an executive chef), Weekend Food for Kids, Home Delivery for home-bound clients, No Cook Bags, a Food Recovery program, and a Community Resource Hub offering rent/utility assistance, healthcare navigation, mailing address, and ID vouchers. In the trailing year the organization distributed over 5,000,000 pounds of food and hygiene products, served 6,187 new families, served 900+ daily visitors to the Kindness Café, and deployed approximately $538,000 in emergency financial assistance (up 24.8% versus FY2022).

The organization's underlying technology stack is deliberately minimal: a Squarespace-hosted public website, organic social channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X), email newsletters, and the Galaxy Digital platform for volunteer shift management. There are no proprietary platforms, native mobile apps, or third-party SaaS ecosystems described; service delivery and client intake are conducted in person, by phone, and via email (development@, hub@, volunteer@, etc.), with multilingual and advocacy partnerships (CISC, ORCA Lift, King County Elections, Meals Partnership Coalition) extending reach without bespoke software.

Revenue is generated entirely from donations and grants rather than fees. Funding sources are primarily individual donors contributing $10–$10,000 gifts, supplemented by community events (e.g., Ballard Bites & Brews), in-kind food donations, volunteer labor (800+ active volunteers), and a core institutional relationship with United Way King County. Go-to-market is community-led rather than sales-led: awareness and pipeline (donors, volunteers, advocacy support) are built through community events, partnerships, content marketing (blog, newsletter), and word of mouth, with no traditional sales motion. The customer base comprises three personas: food-insecure individuals and families (primary), children and youth in the Weekend Food for Kids cohort, and neighbors seeking broader social-services support.

Name

Ballard Food Bank

Legal name

Ballard Food Bank

Website

https://ballardfoodbank.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ballard Food Bank is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a Hub for Hope model that delivers free groceries, hot meals, home delivery, and wraparound social services to food-insecure individuals and families across the city.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief and Community Social Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Hunger relief services
• Community food bank
• Food assistance programs
• Social services hub
• Emergency food distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization relies heavily on individual donors contributing anywhere from $10 to $10,000. Most of their funding comes from these individual gifts.
2. Food Donations: Community members donate food through food drives and direct donations of shelf-stable food, diapers, and toiletries.
3. Volunteer Time: Volunteers contribute time to operations, with over 800 active volunteers providing essential labor.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ballard Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free food and wraparound social services to anyone living in Seattle. Its core offerings include a grocery store-style Community Market, hot meals through the Kindness Café, Weekend Food for Kids bags, home grocery delivery, no-cook bags, and a Community Resource Hub offering rent/utility assistance, ID vouchers, mailing address services, and emergency financial assistance.

Product overview

Ballard Food Bank operates as a multi-service hunger relief organization offering a portfolio of integrated programs. The core is the Community Market, a free grocery store-style food bank where neighbors shop for meat, vegetables, and hygiene items. Supporting programs include the Kindness Cafe (hot meals with global cuisine), Weekend Food for Kids (nutritious weekend bags for children), Home Delivery (for home-bound individuals), No Cook Bags (ready-to-eat options), Community Resource Hub (rent/utility assistance, ID vouchers, mailing address services), and Food Recovery. The organization also hosts Kindness Cafe Cooking Classes as a community engagement feature.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hub for Hope: The comprehensive service model of Ballard Food Bank that includes food bank services, Kindness Café, Community Resource Hub, and other support programs.

Products and services

• Community Market Free grocery store-style food distribution program where Seattle neighbors browse shelves and choose items including meat, vegetables, hygiene items, and pet food; access is by appointment or walk-in at reserved times.
• Kindness Café On-site café offering one free hot meal per day to visitors, volunteers, and staff; features a globally-inspired menu planned weekly by an executive chef and team.
• Weekend Food for Kids
• Home Delivery Grocery delivery service for home-bound clients, delivering bags of groceries available at the Food Bank.
• No Cook Bags Pre-packed bags of ready-to-eat items for clients who do not have cooking facilities.
• Community Resource Hub On-site hub offering rent and utility assistance, healthcare access, mailing address, ID vouchers, and emergency financial assistance for eviction notices.
• Food Recovery Program that recovers food from various sources to redistribute to community members in need.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5 million pounds of food and hygiene products distributed to neighbors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Way King CountycoreOthersBallard Food Bank is supported by United Way King County, which provides funding and organizational support to help the food bank serve the community.
• Meals Partnership Coalition (MPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMPC is a coalition of 50+ meal providers serving millions of meals annually in the Puget Sound region. They help connect organizations to funding, resources, and have contributed hundreds of pounds of free proteins to Ballard Food Bank's Kindness Café through their relationships.
• Town & Country BallardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal neighboring business that has been a long-term supporter, consistently helping in many ways and displaying signage encouraging community support for Ballard Food Bank.
• Seattle Book ProjectminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal nonprofit that redistributes books to common places where community gathers, providing adult and children's books at Ballard Food Bank to increase reading access.
• ORCA LiftminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with King County Metro transit to provide reduced fare cards ($1 fare) to eligible neighbors. ORCA Lift is hosted at Ballard Food Bank's Resource Hub twice monthly to help neighbors access affordable transit.
• Chinese Information & Service Center (CISC)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to serve clients whose primary language is Chinese. CISC social workers help explain food bank policies and navigate government benefits and community resources in multiple languages.
• King County ElectionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKing County Elections has visited the Community Resource Hub to share information on voter eligibility and help folks register to vote using the food bank's address.
• Seattle/King County Coalition on HomelessnessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition has visited the Community Resource Hub to share information on voter eligibility and help homeless individuals register to vote.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mary's Place: Seattle-based nonprofit providing emergency shelter, housing, and wraparound services to families experiencing homelessness. Directly comparable to Ballard Food Bank's Resource Hub model of bundling food access with housing, ID, and financial-navigation support in the Seattle market.
• Northwest Harvest: Washington state's largest hunger-relief food bank distributor, sourcing and distributing food statewide. Directly comparable to Ballard Food Bank on core mission (food banking), Washington geography, and choice-based distribution model.
• Food Lifeline: Seattle/Tacoma-based food distribution affiliate of Feeding America that rescues and redistributes food across Western Washington. Closely comparable to Ballard Food Bank on geography, food-bank model, and reliance on volunteers and donations.
• Seattle's Union Gospel Mission: Seattle-based nonprofit providing meals, shelter, addiction recovery, and housing services to people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Comparable on Seattle geography, food-service operations (meals program), and multi-service hub model.
• Food Bank of the Rockies: Colorado-based regional food bank of similar mid-sized scale, distributing millions of pounds of food annually with mobile pantries, choice-model markets, and wraparound support programs. Directly comparable on scope, service breadth, and operational scale.
• Catholic Community Services of Western Washington: Western Washington multi-program human services nonprofit offering housing, food, refugee, and senior services across the same geography. Comparable to Ballard Food Bank's Hub for Hope model of integrated social services in the Seattle/Puget Sound region.

Regional players

• Hopelink: Eastside King County social services nonprofit operating food banks, housing, transportation, and financial assistance programs. Closely comparable to Ballard Food Bank's multi-program service model, though geographically focused on Eastside rather than Ballard.
• Oregon Food Bank: Pacific Northwest regional food bank network operating a similar choice-model food distribution system across Oregon and Clark County, WA. Comparable on food-bank model and advocacy footprint, though Oregon-focused rather than Seattle-based.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National umbrella network of 200+ food banks (includes Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest, Oregon Food Bank). Not a direct competitor, but the dominant back-office, sourcing, and policy infrastructure Ballard Food Bank's peers plug into — relevant as a structural comparator and funding intermediary.

Emerging players

• Hunger Free Colorado: Colorado-based anti-hunger advocacy and direct-service organization combining SNAP outreach, food provisioning, and policy advocacy. Comparable to Ballard Food Bank on the food-security + policy-advocacy combination and direct-neighbor service model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BallardFoodBank
• Facebookfacebook.com/ballardfoodbank
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ballard-food-bank
• Instagraminstagram.com/ballardfoodbank

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 Ballard Food Bank