Second Servings of Houston

Name

Second Servings of Houston

Legal name

Second Servings of Houston

Website

https://secondservingshouston.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Services (Donation, Animal Feed, Source Reduction Programs) (EUAIAEAH)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Surplus food redistribution
• Hunger relief nonprofit
• Food waste reduction
• Community food donation

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Accepts one-time or recurring donations from individuals, including 'in recognition of' or 'in memory of' gifts. Gifts of any size are welcome with additional recognition opportunities at different support levels.
2. Corporate Grants: Receives grants and financial support from corporations and private foundations. Major donors include Hilton Global Foundation, Republic Services, and others.
3. Fundraising Events: Hosts annual raffles, galas, and community fundraising events. Examples include Summer Raffle, 10-Year Anniversary Raffle, and participation in community events.
4. Kroger Community Rewards & Randalls Good Neighbor Program: Nonprofit receives percentage of eligible purchases when supporters link their store cards. Kroger code: XS812; Randalls code: 13658.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Second Servings of Houston rescues surplus prepared and perishable food from food businesses (grocers, distributors, hotels, sports venues, caterers, schools) using a fleet of refrigerated vans and delivers it same-day, free of charge, to local nonprofit organizations serving food-insecure populations. The organization supplements core rescue with PopUp Grocery Stores, the Dinner's On Us mass meal program, and annual Stop Food Waste awareness campaigns.

Product overview

Second Servings of Houston is Houston's only prepared and perishable food rescue organization, operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects surplus food from donors to nonprofits in need. The organization offers a unified service combining food rescue and redistribution, supplemented by the PopUp Grocery Store Program that provides direct free grocery experiences to families. Additional programs include the Dinner's On Us mass meal relief initiative and the Stop Food Waste Series annual awareness campaign. All services are provided free of charge to both food donors and nonprofit recipients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dinner's On Us: COVID-19 mass meal relief program providing chef-prepared family meals to Houstonians in need, launched April 2020 in partnership with Hess Corporation.
• PopUp Grocery Store Program

Products and services

• Food Rescue and Redistribution Service The core service that redirects unserved and unsold prepared and perishable food from retailers, distributors, hotels, sports venues, and other food businesses to local nonprofit organizations including shelters, soup kitchens, and low-income housing facilities. Provided free of charge to both food donors and nonprofit recipients.
• PopUp Grocery Store Program A program that provides free grocery shopping experiences to families and seniors in need by distributing rescued food at community locations, with volunteers assisting shoppers in choosing items. Coordinated with Food & Faith Collaborative and corporate sponsors.
• Dinner's On Us Program Houston's largest mass meal relief program that provides chef-prepared, frozen family meals to Houstonians in need, originally launched during COVID-19 to serve hospitality workers and expanded to all community members.
• Stop Food Waste Series An annual awareness campaign in April featuring partnerships with local restaurants that showcase zero-waste inspired dishes, with a portion of proceeds donated to Second Servings.
• Food Donor Partnership Program A program enabling food businesses to donate surplus food on regular or as-needed schedules, providing benefits including enhanced tax deductions, reduced waste disposal fees, and improved employee morale.

Quantifiable outcome

• 19 million+ pounds of food rescued, valued at $150+ million
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Houston RocketscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Partnered with Second Servings to conduct monthly drive-thru food distributions at Toyota Center starting September 2020. Served 4,000+ families and distributed 60,000+ meals, produce, milk, and KN-95 masks.
• Hess CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020Long-time supporter and key partner in the 'Dinner's On Us' COVID-19 relief program. Provided Food Services Team to prepare chef-made meals. Raw ingredients purchased by Second Servings through Sysco, with meals prepared by Hess chefs and frozen for distribution to Houstonians in need.
• SyscocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020Longstanding supporter providing raw ingredients for the 'Dinner's On Us' program meals. A key supply chain partner in the mass meal relief effort.
• Galveston Restaurant AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Second Servings to provide meals every Friday for the Galveston hospitality community during COVID-19 relief efforts.
• LAZ ParkingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided the meal distribution site at LAZ parking lot off Avenida De Las Americas for COVID-19 relief distributions.
• ACME Party & Tent RentalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the largest party equipment rental providers in the Houston area, supplied equipment needed to safely direct traffic flow in the distribution area.
• PREFCO Distribution LLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeat and seafood distributor providing freezer storage assistance and meal transportation at no cost for the Dinner's On Us program.
• KrogercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of 'Thanksgiving's On Us' food distribution events. Provides financial support and product donations for mass food distributions.
• Whole Foods MarketminorGTM or Marketing Partner'Give Local' campaign partner. Between December 6-26, shoppers can donate or round up at register to support local food rescue efforts. Whole Foods matches contributions up to $100,000.
• Hilton Americas-HoustoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate volunteer partner. Hilton's 'Travel with Purpose' Week includes volunteering at PopUp Grocery Stores. Hilton Global Foundation provides grants to support operations.
• Trader Joe'scoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood donor partner rescuing surplus from Sugar Land location 7 days a week. Also rescues from multiple other Houston-area Trader Joe's locations.
• Food & Faith CollaborativecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInterfaith organization providing volunteers for multiple PopUp Grocery Stores monthly. Coordinates volunteer recruitment and scheduling for food distribution events.
• Wild Fork FoodsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHoliday partnership in November 2024 where participating products purchased in-store were donated directly to Second Servings.
• Nando's USAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosted a food drive supporting Second Servings with Thanksgiving food donations distributed to families in the community.
• Brothers ProducecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor produce donor contributing 42,000+ lbs of assorted produce for distributions including Thanksgiving's On Us events.
• Tidal Wave Auto SpaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonated Luxury Car Wash + Super Shammy packages as prizes for the Summer Raffle referral bonus drawings.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• City Harvest (New York): NYC-based food rescue organization that collects surplus food and delivers to community programs. Closest geographic-scope and model analog for a major-metro food rescue nonprofit.
• Food Rescue US: National food rescue nonprofit using volunteer-driven app-based logistics to redirect surplus food. Directly comparable business model of donor-to-nonprofit food rescue, though operates across multiple US cities.
• Houston Food Bank: Houston's largest food assistance organization, distributing food to a similar network of community partners. While focused on shelf-stable items rather than prepared/perishable rescue, it competes for the same donor pool and serves the same food-insecure population.
• Food Lifeline (Seattle): Washington-state food rescue and redistribution nonprofit serving similar population segments through donor partnerships and nonprofit distribution. Comparable scale and operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America (national network): National umbrella for 200+ food banks; the Houston Food Bank is a member. Relevant as a comparable for scale, network effect, and donor engagement model, though operates at vastly larger scope.

Emerging players

• Replate: Tech-enabled food rescue platform connecting businesses with surplus food to nonprofits. Comparable prepared-food rescue mission, but uses a digital logistics model rather than Second Servings' refrigerated van fleet.
• Too Good To Go: Commercial surplus-meal marketplace app, partially overlapping the food waste reduction space. While commercial/consumer-facing rather than nonprofit, addresses the same underlying donor surplus pool.

Regional players

• North Texas Food Bank: Major food bank serving North Texas with food rescue and distribution programs. Comparable model in adjacent Texas market that Second Servings could expand into.
• Capital Area Food Bank (Austin): Central Texas food bank serving the Austin region with food rescue and redistribution. Operates in adjacent Texas market with overlapping model elements.

Others

• Feeding Texas: State association representing Texas food banks; Second Servings could conceivably align with or be coordinated through this network. Relevant ecosystem peer for funding/partnership dynamics.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/secondservingshouston

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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 Second Servings of Houston