Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas , Inc.

What Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas , Inc. does

The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization headquartered at 3414 One Place in Jonesboro, Arkansas, founded in 1983. It provides hunger relief across an 11-county service area in Northeast Arkansas by accepting donated bulk food from local and national manufacturers, retailers, and growers, warehousing it, and redistributing it through more than 140 partner charitable agencies and programs. Its operations are anchored by the Food Pantry Network, which delivers 119,000 meals each week, and supplemented by the Backpack Program (weekend meals for food-insecure children), the Fresh Produce Program, the Senior Food Pantry Program (serving seniors at risk of hunger), the USDA TEFAP food distribution program (4-5 distributions per year across 11 counties), and recurring special events such as Acre of Hope, Empty Bowls, Fight Hunger. Spark Change., and Fill the Food Bank. The organization is a member of the Feeding America national network and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, holds a Charity Navigator 4-star rating and a GuideStar Transparency Seal (EIN 71-0810999), and was supported in early 2024 by grants from the BNSF Railway Foundation (for the Backpack Program) and Farm Credit Mid-America.

The business model is charitable: services are provided free of charge to eligible families and individuals, with no commercial pricing. The organization is funded through a combination of institutional grants, individual donations (including emerging channels such as cryptocurrency and planned giving), corporate sponsorships tied to special events, and volunteer-driven food and fund drives. In 2025, 2,135 volunteers contributed 5,240 hours. There is no proprietary technology platform; the core technology is the physical food distribution program — accepting, storing, and redistributing bulk donated food — supported by a basic web presence and a partner agency login (Primarius.app). The senior leadership team comprises CEO Christie Jordan, Chief Program Officer Jennifer Hannah, Chief Development Officer Rebecca Hendrix, Director of Operations Allan Garner, and functional managers across warehouse, compliance, sourcing, and agency relations.

Name

Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas , Inc.

Legal name

Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, Inc.

Website

https://foodbankofnea.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1983 and based in Jonesboro, Arkansas, that distributes 119,000 meals weekly through 140+ partner agencies across an 11-county service area, targeting food-insecure children, seniors, and families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAA

Food Assistance & Food Banks

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

SECONDARYBPAIAKAF

Food & Nutrition Assistance Programs

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

Keywords

• Food bank services
• Emergency food assistance
• USDA TEFAP distribution
• Community hunger relief
• Charitable food distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Jonesboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The organization accepts donated bulk food from local and national manufacturers, retailers, and growers, stores it, and redistributes it to a network of more than 140 partner charitable agencies that together provide approximately 119,000 meals per week to food-insecure families and individuals across 11 counties in Northeast Arkansas. The Food Bank also runs targeted free distribution programs (Backpack, Fresh Produce, Senior Food Pantry, USDA TEFAP) that deliver food directly to eligible recipients at community sites.

Product overview

The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas operates as a single integrated hunger relief organization offering multiple community programs. The core offerings include the Backpack Program (providing weekend food for hungry children), Food Pantry Network (partnering with 140+ agencies to serve 119,000 meals weekly), Fresh Produce Program (distributing fruits and vegetables), Senior Food Pantry Program (serving seniors at risk of hunger), USDA Food Distribution Program (TEFAP distributions across 11 counties), and Special Events (Acre of Hope, Empty Bowls, Fight Hunger. Spark Change., Fill the Food Bank). Additional programs include Volunteer opportunities and Food & Fund Drives for community engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Backpack Program Provides food for hungry children on weekends when other resources are not available. Targets food-insecure children in Northeast Arkansas.
• Food Pantry Network Network of more than 140 partner charitable agencies and programs through which the Food Bank distributes approximately 119,000 meals per week to food-insecure families and individuals across Northeast Arkansas.
• Fresh Produce Program Distributes fresh fruits and vegetables to families and individuals in need across the Food Bank's service area.
• Senior Food Pantry Program Provides supplemental food at food pantries located in area senior citizen centers, serving seniors at risk of hunger in Northeast Arkansas.
• USDA Food Distribution Program (TEFAP) Eligible families and individuals can receive food free of charge at mobile pantry distributions held at central locations in each county. The Food Bank conducts 4 to 5 USDA TEFAP food distributions annually at different sites in 11 counties.
• Special Events Fundraising events and awareness campaigns supporting the Food Bank's mission, including Acre of Hope, Empty Bowls, Fight Hunger. Spark Change., and Fill the Food Bank.
• Volunteer Program Accepts donations of time through volunteer opportunities including office work, sorting food, and packing food boxes. In 2025, 2,135 volunteers contributed 5,240 hours.
• Food & Fund Drive Program Community program allowing individuals and organizations to host food and fund drives in support of the Food Bank's mission of hunger relief.

Quantifiable outcome

• 119,000 meals provided per week through partner agency network
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Food Bank is affiliated with Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. This affiliation provides access to national food sourcing networks, shared resources, best practices, and brand credibility. The Feeding America logo is displayed on the organization's website.
• Arkansas Hunger Relief AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Food Bank is affiliated with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, the state's coordinating body for hunger relief efforts. The alliance logo is displayed on the organization's website, indicating active membership in the state's hunger relief network.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Memphis Food Bank: Feeding America-affiliated food bank serving the Mid-South including counties immediately adjacent to NEA's service area (Crittenden, Mississippi). Comparable operating model (Backpack, Pantry Network, USDA TEFAP) at slightly larger urban-suburban scale, with shared regional food sourcing and donor pools.
• Capital Area Food Bank: Feeding America-affiliated food bank serving the Washington D.C. metro area. Operates a similar portfolio of programs (Backpack, Pantry Network, USDA distributions, Fresh Produce) at larger urban-suburban scale, and is frequently cited as a best-practice peer in the network.
• Arkansas Foodbank: Statewide food bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Operates the same Feeding America-affiliated hunger-relief model across central and southern Arkansas, distributing food through partner agencies. Comparable in scale to NEA and the most directly relevant peer given shared state and donor-pool overlap.
• Good Shepherd Food Bank: Feeding America's largest regional food bank (Maine). Comparable charitable hunger-relief model including Backpack, Pantry Network, and USDA programs, with strong multi-channel fundraising operations. Useful comparator for middle-tier regional food banks in operational efficiency and program scale.
• Food Bank of the Rockies: Feeding America-affiliated food bank serving Colorado and Wyoming. Operates an analogous partner-agency-based distribution model with comparable program breadth (Backpack, Pantry Network, Fresh Produce, Senior Programs). Provides a useful comparator for upper-tier regional food-bank operations.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina: Feeding America-affiliated food bank serving the Charlotte, NC region. Operates an overlapping program set (Backpack, Mobile Pantry, Senior Programs, USDA distributions) and is often used as a benchmark for non-urban regional food bank best practices.
• Food Bank of North Central Arkansas: Feeding America-affiliated food bank serving north central Arkansas. Operates identical programs (Backpack, Pantry Network, USDA distributions) in an adjacent service area, making it the closest operational twin to NEA Food Bank in mission, geography, and program structure.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National umbrella network of 200+ food banks, of which NEA Food Bank is an affiliate. Not a direct competitor but the dominant brand, sourcing backbone, and policy voice in U.S. hunger relief — defining the operating standards and federal partnerships that constrain and enable all member food banks.

Regional players

• Harvest Regional Food Bank: Regional food bank serving Texarkana and surrounding areas on the Arkansas-Texas border. Operates Feeding America-style hunger-relief distribution but in a different geography, providing useful comparison on territory-allocation dynamics across the Feeding America map.

Others

• Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance: State-level coordinating body for hunger relief of which NEA Food Bank is a member. Not a competing food bank but the state umbrella organization — comparable relationship dynamics to peers where alliance members coordinate rather than compete.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FoodBankofNEA
• Instagraminstagram.com/foodbankofnea
• Xx.com/foodbankofnea
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/food-bank-of-northeast-arkansas

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Arkansas , Inc.