The Community Pantry & Hope Garden

What The Community Pantry & Hope Garden does

The Community Pantry & Hope Garden is a nonprofit food bank and community garden organization founded in 1999 by Jim Harlin and Tom Crider, headquartered in Gallup, New Mexico. It serves approximately 100,000 residents across McKinley and Cibola Counties in Northwestern New Mexico, where 36% of McKinley County residents live below the poverty line. The organization distributes more than 40,000 meals per year through a portfolio of programs including emergency food boxes, TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) commodities, a free produce program sourced from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, a mobile pantry serving nine rural communities, a school-based Food for Kids program reaching 1,035 children across 32 schools, and an Agency Program that channels Feeding America food through local non-profits and churches. The organization operates from a fixed facility on Hasler Valley Road in Gallup and a branch location in Grants, NM.

The Hope Garden is the organization's integrated agricultural and educational arm, comprising 6 passive solar hoop houses, a Memorial Orchard of over 100 fruit trees, 72 raised garden boxes (24 ADA-accessible) available for $75/season rental, a community compost program, and a seed exchange. The organization also rents a commercial kitchen facility to the public at $20/hour on weekdays (with a $150 after-hours/weekend surcharge), supporting cooking classes, food-based small businesses such as Flavors of the Hogan, and fundraising events. The underlying operational model is community-led and asset-based: warehousing, logistics, and direct distribution are handled in-house by approximately 20-25 staff and board members.

The revenue model is dominated by monetary donations, food drives, and institutional grants; earned income from garden box and commercial kitchen rentals is supplemental. The organization is governed by a board of directors (President Maura Schanefelt, Vice President Andrea Davis, Treasurer Cindi Clifford, Secretary Veronica Williams, plus eight additional members) under Executive Director Alice Perez and COO Hilda Garcia-Kendall. Strategic partnerships include Feeding America, The Food Depot, New Mexico Association of Food Banks, NM Collaboration to End Hunger, McKinley County government, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, and Global Give-A-Book. The organization does not operate as a technology platform; its competitive position rests on 25 years of community-rooted relationships, physical distribution infrastructure, and on-site food production capacity.

Name

The Community Pantry & Hope Garden

Legal name

The Community Pantry

Website

https://thecommunitypantry.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Community Pantry & Hope Garden is a nonprofit food bank and community garden founded in 1999, serving approximately 100,000 residents across McKinley and Cibola Counties in Northwestern New Mexico through emergency food distribution, a school-based Food for Kids program, a mobile pantry, and on-site agricultural production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Bank & Community Food Assistance

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Food Services (624210), Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food & Nutrition Assistance Programs (BPAIAKAF), Raised Garden Beds & Planter Box Installation (HSAIAFAK)

Keywords

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Gallup

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Food Drives: Organization relies primarily on monetary donations and food donations from the community to fund operations and distribute food to families in need.
2. Garden Box Rentals: Community garden boxes available for $75 per growing season, providing growing space and water access to community members.
3. Commercial Kitchen Rental: Full-service commercial kitchen available for rental at $20/hour on weekdays, with additional $150 fee for after-hours and weekend use.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Community Pantry & Hope Garden is a nonprofit food bank and community garden operating in Northwestern New Mexico. It provides free emergency food assistance, USDA commodity distribution (TEFAP), free produce, weekend meals for school children, mobile pantry deliveries to rural communities, and a community garden with rentable plots, hoop houses, and an orchard. Food is sourced from community donations, food drives, and Feeding America, then distributed through walk-in pantries, mobile routes, schools, and partner agencies in McKinley and Cibola Counties.

Product overview

The Community Pantry & Hope Garden is a food bank and community support organization serving Northwestern New Mexico. It operates as a single unified organization offering food assistance programs (Free Produce, Emergency Food Box, TEFAP, Mobile Pantry, Agency Program, Food For Kids), a community garden (Hope Garden) with garden box rentals, composting, and seed exchange programs, plus a rental Commercial Kitchen facility. The organization serves approximately 100,000 people and provides 40,000 yearly meals through its Gallup and Grants locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Free Produce Program Free weekly distribution of fresh produce and perishables sourced from gleaning in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Available to all clients Tuesday through Thursday at the pantry locations.
• Emergency Food Box
• Food For Kids (FFK)
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
• Mobile Pantry
• Agency Program
• Commercial Kitchen Rental
• Hope Garden
• Garden Box Rentals
• Community Compost
• Seed Exchange
• Senior and Elderly Help

Quantifiable outcome

• $1 provides 5 meals (or $3 worth of food)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Americans for Native AmericanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting the pantry's mission to combat hunger in McKinley County. Listed as a key partner and donor helping make a difference in the community.
• McKinley CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partner supporting food distribution and community programs. Listed as a partner helping the organization make a difference.
• Downtown Presbyterian Church (DPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal church partner contributing to food assistance efforts. Listed as a partner and donor supporting community programs.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner providing support. Listed as a partner and donor helping the organization make a difference.
• Global Give-A-BookcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Mexico-based corporation that has been giving new, quality books to the Food For Kids program since 2021, ensuring children receive a new book with their food donation.
• Youth Conservation CorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Youth Conservation Corps in 2012 to construct rock berm bordering the garden, providing wind break and multiple levels of growing space.
• Alpine LumbercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction materials partner that helped construct 72 raised garden boxes including 24 ADA accessible boxes in 2012.
• The Food DepotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood bank based in Santa Fe providing research and data on hunger in New Mexico. Conducts groundbreaking research on Missing Meals in the state.
• NM Collaboration to End HungercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level collaboration providing funding for research on Missing Meals in New Mexico, in partnership with The Food Depot and funding from PNM.
• New Mexico Association of Food BankscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState association conducting studies on food bank usage. Research found that 40,000 New Mexicans seek food assistance weekly.
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational food bank network providing food commodities distributed through Agency Program to local non-profits and churches.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• AmpleHarvest.org: Nonprofit connecting home gardeners and small farms with local food pantries to reduce food waste and increase fresh produce supply. Comparable mission overlap with Hope Garden's community-garden and food-security approach, and operates as a complementary ecosystem participant.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: National food bank network and the largest hunger-relief organization in the U.S. Feeding America is an active supplier of food commodities to The Community Pantry's Agency Program and provides the structural framework under which the organization operates.
• New Mexico Association of Food Banks: State-level association of New Mexico food banks conducting research on food bank usage and coordinating statewide hunger response. Listed as a direct partner of The Community Pantry, providing research and policy coordination support.

Direct peers

• Roadrunner Food Bank: New Mexico's largest food bank, headquartered in Albuquerque, distributing food across the state. Directly comparable mission and operating model (food sourcing, distribution, partner agency network) but with significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach than The Community Pantry.
• St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance: Regional food bank operating mobile pantries, partner agency distribution, and food rescue programs. Comparable multi-channel distribution model and emphasis on serving rural and underserved communities, though operating at much larger scale.
• The Food Depot: Santa Fe-based food bank serving Northern New Mexico with food distribution, partner agency programs, and hunger research. The Food Depot is an explicit strategic partner of The Community Pantry and operates a near-identical model (food bank + partner agency distribution + research/advocacy) in an adjacent service area.

Others

• WhyHunger: National nonprofit focused on ending hunger through advocacy, grant-making, and the National Hunger Hotline. Thematically adjacent to The Community Pantry's mission; provides a national coordination layer and resources to grassroots food assistance organizations.

Regional players

• Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico: Food bank serving Eastern New Mexico with food distribution, mobile pantries, and partner agency programs. Comparable food bank model in a different region of the same state, sharing TEFAP participation and similar rural service area characteristics.
• Casa de Peregrinos: Community food pantry serving Las Cruces and Southern New Mexico, with food box distribution, senior programs, and partner agency networks. Comparable food assistance mission and operating model in a different New Mexico region.
• Echo Food Bank: Farmington, NM-based food bank serving San Juan County and the Four Corners region. Operates a comparable food distribution and partner agency model in a neighboring service area with similar rural and tribal community demographics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HopeGardenCommunityPantry
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-community-pantry-hope-garden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 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 The Community Pantry & Hope Garden