Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank

What Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank does

Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (EIN 91-1034838) headquartered at 85 Pike St. #200 inside the historic Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. Founded in the late 1970s as part of the Pike Place Market restoration initiative, the organization has operated continuously for 47 years; the Downtown Food Bank (now Pike Market Food Bank) merged into the entity in 1981. It runs two integrated service lines: a free Senior Center serving adults aged 55 and older with daily breakfast and lunch, 760+ annual healthy activities, case management, and housing assistance (14 unhoused seniors placed into safe housing in 2025); and a free Food Bank serving all ages with grocery distribution, a Ready-to-Eat program for homeless clients (2,300+ monthly uses), and a home delivery program for qualified Downtown Seattle residents. In 2025, the organization served more than 67,000 free meals, distributed 89,000+ bags of groceries, and reached nearly 9,900 individuals across both programs — described as its busiest year on record with a 16% year-over-year increase in food program demand.

The organization operates with approximately 28 staff across administrative, member services, meal program and facilities, social services, and food bank teams, plus a Board of Directors led by President Sydny Carter and Executive Director Pamela Hinckley. Its technology footprint is intentionally minimal — Paylocity for HR/recruiting, eJoinMe for donation and event registration, Google Forms for volunteer sign-ups, and Amazon Wishlist for in-kind donations — with no proprietary technology platform, mobile application, or AI/ML capabilities.

The business model is donation-dependent rather than revenue-generating. Funding sources comprise individual donations, corporate giving, foundation grants (Pike Place Market Foundation, United Way of King County), government support (Seattle Human Services, King County Veterans Seniors and Human Services Levy), in-kind food donations from Pike Place Market merchants and regional grocers, and signature fundraising events including the annual Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition (40th edition in 2025) and Stone Soup Luncheon. All services to clients are provided free of charge. The organization disclosed an $85,000 budget gap in 2025 to fund 167,000 combined meals and grocery bags. As a charitable nonprofit with no equity structure, the organization is not a traditional PE/VC investment vehicle; this profile is framed for grant-funder, social-finance, and nonprofit M&A-adjacent audiences evaluating program scale, operational sustainability, and funder concentration.

Name

Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank

Legal name

Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank

Website

https://pmsc-fb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free meals, groceries, and social services to low-income seniors and food-insecure individuals in Downtown Seattle's Pike Place Market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Elder Services & Aging Support (BPAGAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Senior Social Clubs & Community-Based Day Programs (Non-Clinical) (HSABANAK), Meals, Nutrition & Congregate Dining Day Programs (HSABANAM), Community-Based Senior Centers with Adult Day Services (HLADAIAJ)

Keywords

• Senior social services
• Food bank assistance
• Community meal programs
• Homeless outreach services
• Senior center programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual and corporate donations from the community to support operations and food programs
2. Fundraising Events: Annual Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition and Stone Soup Luncheon generate significant revenue for operations
3. Government Grants and Support: Funding from Seattle Human Services, King County Veterans Seniors and Human Services Levy, and other government sources
4. Foundation Support: Support from Pike Place Market Foundation and United Way of King County

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The organization provides free meals, groceries, and social services to low-income seniors and food-insecure community members in Downtown Seattle. Its Senior Center offers free membership (55+) with daily breakfast and lunch, healthy activities, case management, and housing assistance. Its Food Bank distributes free groceries and ready-to-eat food to anyone in need, including home delivery for qualified residents. All services are provided at no cost.

Product overview

Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank operates as a unified nonprofit organization offering two core services: a Senior Center (free membership for adults 55+) providing daily meals, activities, and social services; and a Pike Market Food Bank (free groceries and food assistance for all ages). The Senior Center serves low-income and unhoused seniors with free breakfast and lunch daily, skilled social workers, case management, and helped 14 unhoused seniors find housing. The Food Bank distributes free groceries, provides ready-to-eat food for homeless clients (served over 2,300 times per month), and offers home delivery for qualified Downtown Seattle residents. The organization supplements its mission with fundraising events including the annual Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition and Stone Soup Luncheon, plus volunteer programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pike Market Senior Center Free membership program for adults age 55 and older providing daily meals (breakfast and lunch 7 days a week), 760 healthy activities annually, access to skilled social workers, case management, and housing assistance. Programming is designed for low-income and unhoused members, including help finding safe housing.
• Pike Market Food Bank Free grocery distribution program serving people of any age who face hunger in Downtown Seattle. Distributed 89,000+ bags of groceries in 2025 and operates Tuesday through Thursday with Express Hours on Tuesdays.
• Home Delivery Program Home delivery service for qualified residents of Downtown Seattle, bringing food bank groceries directly to clients with mobility or transportation barriers.
• Ready-to-Eat Program Food Bank program providing fresh and shelf-stable food to people without housing without age restrictions or other barriers. Serves over 2,300 times per month.
• Social Services Case management and outreach services including help finding safe housing, social services coordination, and resident advocacy. Helped 14 unhoused seniors move into safe housing in 2025.
• Volunteer Program Volunteer opportunities including Food Bank driver, home delivery, grocery packing, grocery rescue, general warehouse support, and on-call help supporting the organization's operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67,000+ free meals served annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pike Place MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric market location where the Senior Center is housed; provides community space and visibility
• Bagel BopminorOthersLocal business providing food donations to support food bank operations
• Beecher's Handmade CheeseminorOthersLocal Pike Place Market business providing food donations
• Choice ProduceminorOthersProduce supplier contributing to food bank
• Beecher's Handmade CheeseminorOthersArtisan cheese maker at Pike Place Market providing donations
• Freya Bakery & CafeminorOthersBakery contributing baked goods to food bank
• Honest BiscuitminorOthersLocal bakery providing biscuit donations
• Le PanierminorOthersPike Place Market bakery providing food donations
• Mighty-O DonutsminorOthersDonut shop contributing to food bank donations
• Whole FoodsminorOthersGrocery retailer providing food donations
• TargetminorOthersRetailer contributing to food bank donations
• QFCminorOthersGrocery chain providing food donations
• Delaurenti Food & WineminorOthersPike Place Market specialty food store providing donations
• Market GrillminorOthersPike Place Market restaurant contributing to food bank
• Michou DeliminorOthersDeli at Pike Place Market providing food donations
• World Spice MarketminorOthersSpice shop at Pike Place Market contributing donations

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hopelink: King County-based nonprofit providing food assistance, housing support, and social services to low-income individuals and families; comparable as a multi-service community social services nonprofit in the same regional funding ecosystem.
• Solid Ground: Seattle-based anti-poverty nonprofit offering food assistance, housing services, and case management; directly comparable as a King County social services organization addressing food insecurity and homelessness for vulnerable residents.
• Lifelong: Seattle-based nonprofit providing food, housing, and health services to people facing serious health and housing challenges; comparable as a King County food-and-social-services nonprofit serving vulnerable Downtown populations.
• Food Lifeline: Seattle-based food bank and hunger-relief nonprofit that distributes millions of meals across Western Washington; directly comparable as a regional food-bank operator serving overlapping Downtown and King County populations.
• Catholic Community Services of Western Washington: Multi-service nonprofit operating senior housing, food banks, and case management across Western Washington; comparable as a similarly integrated social services organization serving seniors and food-insecure populations in the same geography.
• Northwest Harvest: Washington State's largest hunger-relief food bank distributing food through a statewide partner network; a direct peer on the Food Bank side, operating a similar free grocery distribution model for food-insecure individuals.
• Sound Generations: Seattle/King County nonprofit providing senior centers, meal programs, transportation, and case management for older adults; the closest peer on the Senior Center side, serving the same 55+ demographic with comparable day-programming and nutrition services.
• DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center): Seattle nonprofit serving adults experiencing homelessness and behavioral health needs with housing, outreach, and case management; directly comparable on the unhoused-senior and housing-placement dimensions of the organization's work.

Broad incumbents

• The Salvation Army Seattle: National faith-based nonprofit operating food banks, meal programs, and senior services including in Seattle; comparable as a broader, established social services incumbent offering overlapping food and senior support in the same regional market.
• Meals on Wheels America: National umbrella organization supporting a network of senior nutrition and meal-delivery programs; comparable as a broader, established player in senior meal delivery — overlapping with the Senior Center's daily meal and home delivery programs but operating at national scale rather than neighborhood level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PikeMarketSCandFB
• Instagraminstagram.com/pikemarket.sc.fb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pmsc-dtfb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 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 Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank