Gather

What Gather does

Gather is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food security organization founded in 1816 in Portsmouth, NH, serving the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and Maine. It operates an integrated portfolio of food assistance programs including the Pantry Market (a supermarket-style food pantry), Mobile Markets (outdoor farmers market-style distribution), the Fresh Food Bus (mobile delivery), Meals 4 Kids (child nutrition during school breaks), Gather Café (located at Great Bay Community College), Cooking 4 Community (prepared meals), Gardening and Gleaning (local food recovery), Fresh Start (culinary job training), and Seacoast Waste Not (food waste reduction in partnership with local chefs). The organization distributes over 1.6 million pounds of food annually and serves thousands of residents each month, with services provided at no cost to members.

Gather's underlying technology footprint is minimal: operations are managed through a Salesforce database, with no proprietary software, AI systems, or digital platforms. Its core "infrastructure" is physical — a 29-person staff supported by 250-300 volunteers each month contributing over 2,000 hours, plus a network of grocery store, farm, and restaurant food donors. In October 2025, Gather opened a new Community Food Center in Portsmouth to expand capacity.

The business model is donation-driven: Gather generates revenue through monetary donations (90% of which is directed to food access and programming), food donations from grocery stores, farms, and restaurants, and community fundraising events. There is no pricing model — all services are free to recipients. The go-to-market is community-led, relying on earned media, partnerships (Music Hall, Great Bay Community College, local farms, restaurants), volunteer mobilization, and direct outreach through newsletters, blog content, and social media. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Anne Hayes, who assumed the role in 2024.

Name

Gather

Legal name

Gather

Website

https://gathernh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1816

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gather is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1816 in Portsmouth, NH, providing free food assistance to food-insecure residents of Seacoast New Hampshire and Maine through a multi-channel distribution network distributing over 1.6 million pounds of food annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Assistance and Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Community Food Services (62421)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food assistance programs
• Community food pantry
• Child nutrition services
• Mobile food distribution
• Culinary job training

Headquarters

HQ city

Portsmouth, NH

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Gather relies on donations of food and funds from the community to operate all of its programs. The organization states that 90% of money raised goes directly to food access and community programming.
2. Food Donations: Receives food donations from the community, grocery stores, farms, and other partners. These donations are distributed through various programs including the Pantry Market, Mobile Markets, and Meals 4 Kids.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gather is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food security organization that provides free food and prepared meals to people experiencing hunger on the Seacoast of New Hampshire and Maine. It distributes over 1.6 million pounds of food each year through the Pantry Market, Mobile Markets, Fresh Food Bus, Meals 4 Kids, Gather Café, and Cooking 4 Community programs, and addresses food waste and unemployment through the Seacoast Waste Not food recovery and Fresh Start culinary training programs. All services are provided at no cost to community members.

Product overview

Gather is a nonprofit food security organization offering a portfolio of integrated food assistance and community programs. Core offerings include the Pantry Market (supermarket-style food distribution), Mobile Markets (outdoor farmers market format), and the Fresh Food Bus (mobile distribution). The organization addresses food insecurity through specialized programs including Meals for Kids (child nutrition during school breaks), Gather Café (college student support), and Cooking 4 Community (prepared meals). Additional services include Gardening and Gleaning (local food production), Fresh Start (culinary job training), and Seacoast Waste Not (food recovery). Together these programs distribute over 1.6 million pounds of food annually and serve thousands of Seacoast residents in New Hampshire and Maine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pantry Market: A supermarket-style food pantry offering healthy food options at no cost in a welcoming setting
• Mobile Markets
• Fresh Food Bus
• Meals for Kids (M4K)
• Gather Café
• Cooking 4 Community
• Fresh Start
• Seacoast Waste Not

Products and services

• Pantry Market A supermarket-style food pantry at 124 Heritage Ave, Portsmouth, NH, offering healthy food options at no cost to community members experiencing food insecurity in a welcoming, dignified setting.
• Mobile Markets Outdoor farmers market-style distribution of fresh produce and nutritious staple foods at various locations across the Seacoast, provided free to community members.
• Fresh Food Bus A mobile bus (Gus the Bus) that brings food to communities where a mobile market is not practical, ensuring access to nutritious food throughout the Seacoast region.
• Meals for Kids (M4K) Program providing healthy meals and snacks for children when school is not in session, delivered to multiple locations across the Seacoast. Serves more than 500 children weekly throughout summer.
• Gather Café Café located at Great Bay Community College at Pease, providing free meals to college students and the community to address food insecurity on campus.
• Cooking 4 Community Volunteers transform food into delicious, nutritious to-go style meals for community members in need.
• Gardening and Gleaning Free drop-in gardening classes plus a gleaning program that recovers surplus crops from local farms to bring fresh, locally grown food to members.
• Fresh Start Culinary Training Free culinary training program for job seekers, helping participants develop skills for employment in the food service industry.
• Seacoast Waste Not Food recovery program partnering with local chefs and restaurants to repurpose food that would otherwise go to waste into meals for those experiencing hunger.

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributes over 1.6 million pounds of food each year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Boston GlobeminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 October 2025Coverage of Gather's gleaning program and efforts to tap into surplus crops from farms to combat hunger.
• Seacoastonline / Portsmouth HeraldminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Regular press coverage including Fill the Hall food drive, volunteer recognition, and program announcements.
• Seacoast Area Restaurants and ChefscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Partnership with local chefs and restaurants through Seacoast Waste Not program to turn recovered food into meals. Chefs volunteer time and expertise to create nutritious prepared meals for community members.
• Portsmouth HeraldminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2024Local newspaper coverage and reprinted articles about Gather programs, events, and impact.
• Music HallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Fill the Hall food drive partnership. The Music Hall's annual fundraiser aims to fill all 895 seats of the historic theater with food while bringing awareness to food insecurity. The event has been running for 9+ years and garnered over 10,000 pounds of food and $28,000 in cash donations.
• Great Bay Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGather Café is located at Great Bay Community College at Pease, providing meals to college students and the community. This partnership addresses food insecurity among college students.
• WMURminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal TV news coverage featuring Gather's programs, Community Food Center opening, and food security initiatives.
• Local Farms (Gleaning Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local farms to recover surplus crops through the Gardening and Gleaning program. Produce is brought into Gather's food pantry within hours of being picked, providing fresh, locally grown food to members.
• Grocery Stores (Food Donations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStores donate surplus food that volunteers pick up and bring to Gather's programs for distribution.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Food Forward: A Southern California food rescue and redistribution nonprofit operating gleaning and recovery programs. Direct peer because it shares Gather's emphasis on gleaning, food recovery, and connecting surplus food to communities in need through volunteer-powered logistics.
• Food Bank of the Rockies: A regional food bank serving Colorado and Wyoming with mobile pantries, partner agencies, and child-nutrition programs. Direct peer because it operates the same multi-channel food-distribution model targeting families, children, and seniors with comparable programs.
• New Hampshire Food Bank: The statewide food bank serving New Hampshire, distributing food through partner pantries and programs. Direct peer because both organizations fight food insecurity in overlapping NH geographies and compete for regional donors and volunteers.
• Good Shepherd Food Bank: Maine's largest hunger-relief organization distributing food via a statewide network of partners. Direct peer because it operates the same food-bank model with mobile distributions, partner pantries, and child-meal programs in a directly adjacent geography to Gather.

Broad incumbents

• Meals on Wheels America: The national organization supporting a network of local programs delivering meals to seniors. Broad incumbent because it serves overlapping vulnerable populations (seniors, food-insecure households) with meal-delivery infrastructure similar to Gather's senior-facing programs.
• Feeding America: The national network of 200+ food banks and the largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Broad incumbent because it sets the national playbook for food banking and competes with regional players like Gather for donor mindshare, federal grants, and brand visibility.
• No Kid Hungry: A national campaign ending childhood hunger through school-meal programs, summer feeding, and afterschool nutrition. Broad incumbent because it overlaps directly with Gather's Meals 4 Kids program addressing child food insecurity during school breaks.

Others

• WhyHunger: A national nonprofit advocating for food security and supporting grassroots hunger-relief organizations. Adjacent/ecosystem peer because it funds and advocates for community-based organizations like Gather while operating its own national Hunger Hotline and resources.

Emerging players

• FoodCorps: A national nonprofit connecting kids to healthy food through school gardens, nutrition education, and cafeteria changes. Emerging player because it overlaps with Gather's gardening and child-nutrition mission and represents a programmatic extension path for Gather's school-age outreach.

Regional players

• Greater Boston Food Bank: The largest hunger-relief organization in New England, serving eastern Massachusetts. Regional peer because it operates a comparable food-bank model in an adjacent geography and competes with Gather for Seacoast-area donors and corporate partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gathernh

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Gather