Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana

What Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana does

Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana is a 501(c)(3) hunger-relief nonprofit headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, operating a 35,000-square-foot warehouse that procures, sorts, warehouses, and distributes food across a 12-parish service area in Northeast Louisiana. Founded in 1996 with two part-time employees and a volunteer director, the organization has grown to 18 full-time staff supported by volunteers and now distributes over 8 million pounds of food annually, delivering nearly 8 million meals (FY2025) and serving roughly 32,000 individuals each month. Its core programs include the Senior Box Program and CSFP for adults aged 60+, the BackPack for Kids Program (partnered with 26 schools serving 900+ children weekly), a Mobile Pantry distribution channel for rural parishes, disaster relief operations, the Grocery Rescue Program for retail/manufacturer surplus, and a SNAP Outreach service connecting residents with federal benefits. A network of 60+ community partner nonprofit agencies — churches, food pantries, and meal programs — operates as the primary last-mile distribution channel.

The organization is a member of Feeding America and Feeding Louisiana (one of five Feeding America partner food banks in the state), giving it access to national supply chains, USDA commodity allocations, and peer-bank surplus sharing. Revenue is generated exclusively through charitable streams: individual donations (one-time and monthly recurring via online portal, check, phone, in-person), food drives (physical and virtual), corporate sponsorships and grants (Walmart, Atmos Energy, Aetna, AT&T, Entergy, CoBank, and others at the $2,500+ level), federal nutrition program allocations (USDA CSFP commodities), planned giving and legacy gifts, and event revenue (notably the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser). The pricing/impact model is donation-based: $1 provides approximately 3 meals, and direct services to recipients are free subject to income and residency eligibility. Go-to-market relies on community-led engagement through volunteer mobilization, food drives, advocacy, signature events (Empty Bowls, Spread the Love, Christmas Cheer, Rock N' Box, Scouting for Food, Stamp Out Hunger), social media, email newsletters, and earned media.

The organization maintains a 4-star Charity Navigator rating and is a BBB Accredited Charity (the first Monroe-area nonprofit to achieve this), with full GIVE.ORG accreditation. Leadership includes Executive Director Jean Toth (since September 2015) and a Director of Development; governance is by an independent board of directors. The operating model is asset-light in cash terms but capital-intensive in donated-food throughput, with no disclosed equity ownership, parent/subsidiary structure, or M&A activity. No AI/ML, proprietary technology platform, or SaaS/tech-product layer is part of the offering.

Name

Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana

Legal name

Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana

Website

https://foodbanknela.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana is a Monroe-based 501(c)(3) hunger-relief nonprofit that procures and distributes over 8 million pounds of food annually across 12 parishes through 60+ partner agencies, serving roughly 32,000 individuals per month via senior, child, mobile pantry, and disaster relief programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief and Food Assistance Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAA

Food Assistance & Food Banks

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYHLAJAKAH

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

SECONDARYBPAIAKAF

Food & Nutrition Assistance Programs

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Social Security, Benefits & Welfare Administration

SECONDARYBPAGAAAD

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Humanitarian Aid & Disaster Relief

Keywords

• Food bank services
• Hunger relief
• Food distribution
• Community assistance
• Food insecurity

Headquarters

HQ city

Monroe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monetary donations from individuals providing meals ($1 = 3 meals). One-time and monthly recurring gifts via online portal, check, phone, or in-person.
2. Food Donations: Physical food donations from individuals, businesses, schools, and organizations through food drives and virtual food drives.
3. Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships: Corporate giving at $2,500+ levels including sponsorships for events (e.g., Empty Bowls), grants, and retail rescue partnerships.
4. Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts: Estate planning vehicles including the Mintz Planned Giving Society, charitable gift annuities, stocks, and donor-advised funds (DAF Direct).
5. Federal Nutrition Programs: Food supply from federal nutrition programs including USDA foods for Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and other commodity programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana is a nonprofit hunger-relief organization that procures, sorts, warehouses, and distributes free food to food-insecure individuals, families, seniors, and children across a 12-parish service area in Northeast Louisiana. It operates direct service programs (Senior Box, CSFP, BackPack for Kids, Mobile Pantry, Disaster Relief) and supplies more than 60 community partner agencies that run local food pantries and meal programs, distributing over 8 million pounds of food and nearly 8 million meals annually.

Product overview

The Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana operates as a hunger-relief nonprofit organization with a distributed network model. The core offering consists of food distribution programs including the Senior Box Program and CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program) for seniors aged 60+, the BackPack for Kids Program for schoolchildren, and direct food assistance through Community Partners and Mobile Pantry distributions across 12 parishes. Supporting programs include SNAP Assistance for benefit enrollment, Disaster Relief for emergency response, the Grocery Rescue Program for food waste reduction, and an online Virtual Food Drive platform for donations. The organization serves nearly 32,000 individuals monthly through over 60 partner agencies, distributing over 8 million pounds of food annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Senior Food Assistance / Senior Box Program Provides adults age 60 and older with limited incomes a free monthly box of nutritious groceries containing approximately 30 pounds of shelf-stable foods, with fresh and frozen items included when available. Targets seniors in the 12-parish service area who meet income eligibility requirements.
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) Federal USDA program administered locally that provides eligible adults age 60 and older with a free monthly box of USDA foods containing approximately 30 pounds of nutritious staples such as canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, pasta, cheese, and canned meats.
• BackPack for Kids Program Provides children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations. Each BackPack typically includes two cereals, two entrees, a snack, fruit juice, and shelf-stable milk. Currently serves over 1,000 children each week through partnerships with schools in Lincoln, Jackson, Morehouse, and Ouachita Parishes.
• Community Partner Network Distributes food to more than 50 non-profit community partners who operate food pantries and meal programs across Northeast Louisiana's 12-parish service area. Partners include churches and charitable organizations such as Christian Community Action (Lincoln Parish) and Apostolic Restoration Church (West Monroe).
• Mobile Pantry Program Hosts drive-thru food distributions providing nutritious food directly from refrigerated trucks to neighbors needing food assistance in rural and underserved areas, and during disaster response. Scheduled for upcoming distributions in East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, and Franklin parishes.
• Disaster Relief Provides emergency and increased assistance to individuals and families following a disaster, working through temporary shelters, pop-up distributions, and local food pantries. Distributed 195,000 pounds of food during a single winter storm disaster response.
• SNAP Assistance SNAP Outreach program that helps educate and connect eligible people with available SNAP benefits, assisting with application processes through the Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services.
• Virtual Food Drive Online fundraising platform allowing individuals or organizations to create fundraising pages to raise funds for the Food Bank, with every $1 raised providing up to 3 meals.
• Grocery Rescue Program Program that actively collects food from local retailers, growers, and manufacturers who are unable to sell products due to surplus inventory, minor damage, code date issues, or expired marketing campaigns to reduce food waste.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,998,798 meals provided to neighbors in FY2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Food Bank is a proud member of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. This membership provides access to national supply chains, advocacy resources, best practices, and brand affiliation as one of over 200 food banks in the Feeding America network.
• Feeding LouisianacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Food Bank is a member of Feeding Louisiana, the Louisiana Food Bank Association, connecting it to the state-level network of food banks working collaboratively on hunger relief across Louisiana.
• WalmartcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWalmart and Sam's Club support the Food Bank through local grants, retail rescue programs, and the annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign (13th straight year in 2026). The campaign runs April 6–May 3, with participating products triggering meal donations ($0.10 per item at Walmart, $0.50 at Sam's Club).
• Atmos EnergymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAtmos Energy sponsors the Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Challenge, matching donor gifts up to $10,000 during the year-end giving campaign to double the impact of community donations.
• Christian Community Action (CCA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLongtime community partner in Lincoln Parish for three decades. CCA operates a food pantry serving about 400 people per month, receiving over 66,000 lbs of food from the Food Bank in FY2024 — over 55,000 meals provided to neighbors.
• Louisiana Tech University (Greek Week)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerStudents at Louisiana Tech University raised over 33,000 pounds of food during Greek Week, making it one of the largest Food Bank food drives in recent years. Participating sororities and fraternities include Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, and Sigma Kappa.
• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual Stamp Out Hunger food drive (30th year nationally, ongoing locally) where postal carriers collect non-perishable food donations from homes across Northeast Louisiana to support the Food Bank's hunger relief efforts.
• Aetna by CVS Health, AT&T, Chartis, CoBank, Entergy Louisiana, Hopkins Dermatology, Lincoln Health Foundation, Living Well Foundation, Louisiana Blue Foundation, Mortenson, New Orleans Saints / New Orleans Pelicans, United Way of Northeast LouisianamajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partners at the $2,500+ level (January–April 2026) providing financial support, grants, sponsorships, and volunteer resources. Includes healthcare companies, utilities, foundations, financial institutions, and civic organizations.
• Louisiana Department of Children & Family ServicescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Food Bank's SNAP Outreach Coordinator helps connect eligible individuals in Northeast Louisiana with SNAP benefits through the state's DCFS. The Food Bank provides application assistance and eligibility education.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National network of 200+ food banks including Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana as a member. Provides supply chain access, advocacy, and brand affiliation rather than direct local distribution.
• Houston Food Bank: Larger-scale Feeding America partner food bank operating in Texas with similar hunger-relief programs including Senior Box, BackPack, and Mobile Pantry. Comparable operating model at significantly larger scale.
• Feeding Louisiana: Louisiana state association of food banks that Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana is a member of. Coordinates statewide hunger-relief efforts among the five Feeding America partner food banks in Louisiana.

Regional players

• Food Bank of Central Louisiana: Regional food bank serving Central Louisiana with similar community partner distribution model. Direct peer within Feeding Louisiana network operating in adjacent geography.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana: Regional Feeding America partner food bank serving Southeast Louisiana with similar hunger-relief programs and community partner network. State-level peer within Feeding Louisiana.

Direct peers

• Second Harvest Heartland: Minnesota-based Feeding America partner food bank with similar scale and multi-county service area. Operates comparable Senior Box, BackPack, Mobile Pantry, and Grocery Rescue programs.
• Good Shepherd Food Bank: Regional Feeding America partner food bank serving Maine with similar community partner network, Mobile Pantry distributions, and Senior/Child programs. Comparable mid-sized food bank operating model.
• Midwest Food Bank: Multi-state Feeding America partner food bank with similar volunteer-driven, partner-agency distribution model including Mobile Pantry and disaster relief programs. Operates comparable hunger-relief network structure.
• Gleaners Community Food Bank: Regional Feeding America partner food bank serving Southeast Michigan with similar community partner distribution network, BackPack programs, and Mobile Pantry distributions. Comparable mid-sized operating model.

Others

• Walmart Foundation / Walmart Fight Hunger. Spark Change. Major corporate partner and donor to Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana through the annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign (13th year in 2026). Comparable to other large corporate hunger-relief sponsors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEH2yv4ReA6oRf5wmUgku2A
• Facebookfacebook.com/FBNELA
• Instagraminstagram.com/fbnela

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana