Cooking for the Crowd

What Cooking for the Crowd does

Cooking for the Crowd is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016 by Elizabeth Furrh that prepares nutritious meals at scale for other nonprofit organizations in North Texas. Its core service is centralized meal catering delivered through a single commercial kitchen located inside East Dallas Christian Church at 629 N Peak St, Dallas. The organization partners directly with nonprofits serving students, seniors, families, and crisis-impacted communities, producing more than 32,000 lifetime meals for 23 partner organizations. Documented outcomes for partners include up to 65% reduction in meal costs and 10-30 staff hours saved per week.

The business model is donation- and grant-funded rather than transactional: revenue streams include individual contributions, an end-of-year giving campaign, and grant funding, with the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Social Innovation Accelerator providing $45,000 in April 2026 ($25,000 finalist award plus $20,000 Innovation Award). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per partner. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on direct outreach to nonprofits in the DFW ecosystem, word-of-mouth referrals, partner testimonials, and a multichannel social presence (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok) plus a "Mission in Action" blog and email newsletter.

Operationally, the organization is small and recently transitioned from an all-volunteer model to a staffed one: the team includes Founder & CEO Elizabeth Furrh, Director of Special Programs Victoria Hines, and Administrative & Communications Assistant Valerie Santoyo (the first paid hire in 2025). Strategic partnerships with Restoration Farms (urban farming) and Notre Dame School of Dallas STAR Adult Program (life-skills training for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities) are beginning to extend the model beyond pure meal delivery into local food-system and workforce-development adjacencies. Geographic operations are limited to North Texas with no disclosed plans for broader expansion.

Name

Cooking for the Crowd

Legal name

Cooking for the Crowd

Website

https://cookingforthecrowd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cooking for the Crowd is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that prepares nutritious meals at scale for other nonprofits across North Texas, helping partners cut meal costs by up to 65% and redirect staff time to their core missions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Meal Catering Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (72231)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Event Catering (Weddings, Social, Private Parties) (THAFAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Event Culinary Staffing & Back-of-House Services (Chefs, Servers, Bartenders) (THAHAKAN)

Keywords

• Nonprofit meal catering
• Community meal services
• Charitable food services
• Bulk meal preparation
• Nonprofit catering support

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas, TX

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the organization relies on charitable donations from individuals, grants, and fundraising campaigns. The end-of-year giving campaign met its $25,000 goal. EIN 84-4901934.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cooking for the Crowd prepares nutritious, balanced meals at scale from a commercial kitchen in Dallas, TX and delivers them to nonprofit partner organizations across North Texas. The service enables partner nonprofits to redirect staff time (10-30 hours per week) and resources (up to 65% meal cost reduction) to their core missions while ensuring the people they serve are fed. More than 32,000 meals have been prepared for 23 nonprofit partners.

Product overview

Cooking for the Crowd is a single-service nonprofit organization providing nonprofit catering and meal preparation services. The core offering is nutritious meal catering for nonprofit partners, with services designed to reduce meal costs by up to 65% and save nonprofit staff 10-30 hours per week. The organization operates from a commercial kitchen inside East Dallas Christian Church and has prepared more than 32,000 meals for 23 nonprofit partners across North Texas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 32,000 meals prepared for 23 nonprofits across North Texas
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Restoration Farms (Restorative Farms)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Collaboration with South Dallas nonprofit dedicated to building a community-driven urban farming agrisystem. Cooking for the Crowd provides meals for community gatherings at Restoration Farms. The partnership supports the local food economy and food security initiatives.
• Big Tex Urban FarmsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Local farm partner in Dallas that generously supports Cooking for the Crowd. The partnership connects the organization with local fresh food sources and strengthens the local food system.
• Notre Dame School of Dallas STAR Adult ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the STAR Adult Program that empowers adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Cooking for the Crowd kitchen provides life skills training including chopping, cleaning dishes, cooking and team navigation. The kitchen will serve program participants with valuable skills while creating a collaborative environment.
• East Dallas Christian ChurchcoreOthersHost location for Cooking for the Crowd's commercial kitchen. The church provides the kitchen facility at 629 N Peak St, Dallas, TX 75246, enabling the organization to cook full-time and expand meal production capacity.
• Readers 2 LeadersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDallas-based nonprofit on a mission to equip students for success through reading. Cooking for the Crowd provides lunch for their board meetings, helping the organization save time and resources to focus on their literacy mission.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DC Central Kitchen: Washington DC-based nonprofit that operates a large-scale commercial kitchen preparing meals for vulnerable populations while providing culinary job training. Directly comparable to Cooking for the Crowd as a nonprofit catering social enterprise serving community organizations at scale.
• Project Angel Food: Los Angeles-based nonprofit that prepares and delivers nutritious meals to people facing serious illness. Closely parallels Cooking for the Crowd's nonprofit kitchen operations and mission-driven meal distribution model.
• Community Servings: Boston-based nonprofit that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to individuals and families affected by critical illness. Operates a large production kitchen serving mission-aligned clients, paralleling the centralized-kitchen nonprofit-catering model.
• God's Love We Deliver: NYC-based nonprofit that cooks and delivers specialized meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses. Comparable as a nonprofit meal-preparation organization using a centralized kitchen model to serve vulnerable populations.

Regional players

• North Texas Food Bank: Dallas-headquartered regional food bank serving the same North Texas geography as Cooking for the Crowd. Adjacent in mission (feeding food-insecure populations) and could serve as either a partner, donor, or potential alternative/funder relationship in the same regional ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Rethink Food: NYC-based nonprofit that redistributes surplus food and operates community kitchens to prepare meals for food-insecure New Yorkers. Comparable nonprofit food-prep model with similar community-kitchen infrastructure and mission-driven catering.

Broad incumbents

• Meals on Wheels America: National nonprofit network providing home-delivered meals to seniors across the United States. Operates at significantly larger scale in a related meal-delivery-for-vulnerable-populations category, representing the broader incumbent space Cooking for the Crowd operates adjacent to.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cookingforthecrowd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooking-for-the-crowd
• Instagraminstagram.com/cookingforthecrowd
• TikToktiktok.com/@cookingforthecrowd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Cooking for the Crowd