St. Johns Food Share

What St. Johns Food Share does

St. Johns Food Share is a volunteer-run, community-based food pantry operating continuously since 1988 (originally founded as Golden Harvesters by Darlene Hopkins out of her garage; rebranded and relocated to its current site at 8100 N. Lombard Street in Portland's St. Johns neighborhood in 2005). It distributes free food through an open-door, no-barrier, choice-based model in which visitors select their own groceries from rotating produce, ready-to-go meals, and pantry staples during three weekly shopping windows (Monday and Friday 10am–4pm, Wednesday 10am–12pm). The organization serves approximately 6,500 people per month and distributed over one million pounds of free food in 2025, having previously eliminated a small monthly membership fee so that all access is fully free.

The technology footprint is minimal and conventional: a WordPress website built with the BoldGrid page builder and hosted on DreamHost, plus standard social-media presence on Instagram and Facebook and a Zeffy-powered donation funnel. There are no proprietary software products, no mobile app, no APIs, and no integrations beyond basic website plugins. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors (President Tiffany Slottke, Vice President Val Sanford, Secretary Norma Doyle, Treasurer Michelle Graham, and nine Members at Large) with no paid employees disclosed.

St. Johns Food Share is funded through tiered financial donations (Dinner Donor $50/month, Feast Funder $100/month, Harvest Hero $1,300/month, plus one-time gifts via Zeffy) and in-kind food from Oregon Food Bank, the Fresh Alliance produce-rescue program, and community partners including Marsee Baking, Sparrow Bakery, and Thousand Furrows Farm. As a partner agency of Oregon Food Bank, it benefits from the state's largest hunger-relief supply network. Operations are powered by 100+ active volunteers, with monthly engagement of roughly 70 volunteers contributing 1,500+ hours. The organization also runs an inter-pantry redistribution program that forwards surplus food to other pantries, shelters, and faith-based organizations, and is currently pursuing non-profit reincorporation to formalize its legal status.

Name

St. Johns Food Share

Legal name

St. Johns Food Share

Website

https://stjohnsfoodshare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

St. Johns Food Share is a volunteer-run, no-barrier community food pantry in North Portland that distributes free groceries to approximately 6,500 people per month, sourcing food from Oregon Food Bank, the Fresh Alliance program, and local farms and bakeries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Assistance

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Buying Clubs & Community Bulk Purchasing Co-ops (CRAHALAE)

Keywords

• Food pantry services
• Community food distribution
• Volunteer food bank
• Charitable food assistance
• Free grocery pantry

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Financial Donations: Monthly and one-time monetary donations from community members. Donation tiers include Dinner Donor ($50/month), Feast Funder ($100/month), and Harvest Hero ($1,300/month). These support facility rent, truck operations, phone service, and general operations.
2. Food Donations (In-kind): Food sourced from Oregon Food Bank, Fresh Alliance program, community partners (farms, bakeries, restaurants), and individual donors. All food is distributed free of charge to community members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

St. Johns Food Share runs a volunteer-powered, open-door community food pantry in North Portland that distributes free groceries, fresh produce, and ready-to-go meals to anyone who walks in during operating hours. The pantry operates as a miniature grocery store where visitors self-select items, with no proof of need, income verification, or membership fee required. Food is sourced at no cost from Oregon Food Bank, the Fresh Alliance grocery rescue program, local farms, bakeries, and restaurants, and is distributed to approximately 6,500 community members each month.

Product overview

St. Johns Food Share operates as a volunteer-run community food pantry offering free food distribution through an open-door, no-barrier approach. The organization functions as a miniature grocery store where community members select free food from rotating produce, ready-to-go meals, and pantry staples during designated open shopping hours. Food is sourced from Oregon Food Bank, the Fresh Alliance program, community partners (farms, bakeries, restaurants), and individual donors. The organization provides food for approximately 6,500 people per month and distributed over one million pounds of food in 2025. No software or technology products are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open-Door Community Food Pantry Volunteer-powered, open-door food pantry operating as a miniature grocery store where community members select free groceries, fresh produce, ready-to-go meals, and pantry staples during walk-in hours (Monday and Friday 10am-4pm, Wednesday 10am-12pm). No proof of need, income verification, or membership fee required. Serves approximately 6,500 people each month and distributed over 1 million pounds of free food in 2025.
• Surplus Food Redistribution to Partner Organizations During periods of abundant donations, St. Johns Food Share provides food to other regional food pantries, shelters, and faith community organizations to supplement their food distribution programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides food for 6,500 people each month
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oregon Food BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-wide organization providing food to over 1,000 partner agencies including St. Johns Food Share. St. Johns Food Share is a partner agency of Oregon Food Bank and receives food through this partnership. Volunteers receive training through OFB portals on food safety and client civil rights/confidentiality.
• Fresh Alliance ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram that diverts excess food from grocery stores that would otherwise go to landfills. Provides fresh produce and other items to food banks and partner agencies like St. Johns Food Share.
• Marsee BakingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner that makes regular donations of excess food to St. Johns Food Share.
• Sparrow BakeryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner making regular donations of excess food to St. Johns Food Share.
• Thousand Furrows FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner making regular donations of excess food to St. Johns Food Share.
• Portland Food ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization enabling neighbors to donate shelf-stable foods. On one day, the team sorted, packed and stocked 2,856 lbs of shelf stable foods donated by neighbors across the city through this program.
• Ride ConnectionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit transportation organization providing Door-to-Door service, Community Connector shuttles, and RideWise Travel Training program throughout tri-county area (Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties). Helps people access goods and services including St. Johns Food Share.
• Oregon Community FoundationminorOthersListed as a partner on the organization's attribution page with logo displayed.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• FoodCloud: Ireland-based social enterprise connecting retailers' surplus food to charities. Operates a comparable food-waste-to-community model and has international scale through technology partnerships.
• 412 Food Rescue: Pittsburgh-based nonprofit using technology to redirect surplus food from businesses directly to communities in need. Comparable food-rescue and waste-reduction mission with a tech-enabled distribution approach.

Broad incumbents

• Oregon Food Bank: Statewide food bank serving 1,000+ partner agencies including St. Johns Food Share. Direct upstream partner and the most structurally comparable organization operating at much larger scale across Oregon.

Regional players

• Food Lifeline: Seattle-based food bank distributing food across Western Washington through partner pantries. Comparable role as a regional aggregator with a partner-agency distribution model similar to St. Johns Food Share.
• SF-Marin Food Bank: San Francisco and Marin County food bank operating a partner pantry network with choice-based pantry models. Directly comparable operating philosophy to St. Johns Food Share's dignity-first distribution.
• Good Shepherd Food Bank: Maine's largest food bank distributing food through a partner-agency network statewide. Comparable as a regional food bank feeding hundreds of pantries with hunger-relief focus.
• Food Bank of the Rockies: Colorado and Wyoming regional food bank distributing food through partner pantries. Comparable as a community-network food bank with hunger-relief and food rescue missions similar to St. Johns Food Share.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida: Regional food bank distributing food through partner pantries and community programs in Central Florida. Closely comparable as a community-network distributor serving low-income populations via partner agencies.
• Harvesters - The Community Food Network: Kansas City-area regional food bank serving a 26-county area through partner agencies. Operates a structurally similar food distribution model to St. Johns Food Share but at regional scale.

Direct peers

• Portland Food Project: Neighbor-driven shelf-stable food collection program in Portland that channels donations to partner pantries including St. Johns Food Share. Operates in the same community with an overlapping volunteer and donor base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/search/top?q=st.%20johns%20food%20share
• Instagraminstagram.com/stjohnsfoodshare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-johns-food-share

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 St. Johns Food Share