Kentucky Harvest, Inc.

What Kentucky Harvest, Inc. does

Kentucky Harvest, Inc. is a Louisville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 that operates a regional food rescue operation. The organization connects 191 food donor locations to 60+ nonprofit partner agencies across six counties — Jefferson, Oldham, and Shelby in Kentucky, and Clark, Floyd, and Harrison in southern Indiana. Its seven-day-a-week, same-day pickup and delivery service is staffed by 763+ volunteers and is described as rescuing 2+ million pounds of food annually, equivalent to nearly 2 million meals and $4 million+ in annual savings to recipient nonprofits, with cumulative impact of 86+ million pounds since founding.

Operationally, Kentucky Harvest runs the Food Rescue Hero mobile application, launched November 8, 2023, to coordinate volunteer rescues in real time; the platform has logged 4,884+ rescues to date and the organization is the 16th member of the broader Food Rescue Hero network in North America. Its core staffing remains lean at 5 employees, with operational scale achieved primarily through volunteer labor and donor-side logistics coordination rather than proprietary technology differentiation. The organization is BBB-accredited and reports mitigating 6.7 million pounds of CO2-equivalent emissions as a co-benefit of food rescue activity.

Kentucky Harvest's financial model is contribution-based: individual monthly giving (the Plate It Forward program), foundation grants (including a 2023 CFSI $10,000 Capacity Building grant), corporate partnerships (named donors include Papa John's, Sysco, and Thorntons), and branded fundraising events (the annual Big Green EGGFest and the Greats of the Gate collaboration with Maker's Mark and Keeneland). No financial statements, contribution totals, or contractual revenue figures are disclosed in the source material available.

Name

Kentucky Harvest, Inc.

Legal name

Kentucky Harvest, Inc.

Website

https://kyharvest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kentucky Harvest, Inc. is a Louisville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 that runs a volunteer-driven food rescue operation across six counties in Kentucky and Indiana, connecting 191 donor locations to 60+ nonprofit partners and delivering 2+ million pounds of food annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Rescue Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Surplus food recovery
• Food donation logistics
• Hunger relief programs
• Food waste reduction

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monthly giving program ('Plate It Forward') and one-time donations from individuals supporting food rescue mission. Donations help sustain operations and expand food rescue capacity.
2. Foundation and Grant Funding: Grants from foundations such as Community Foundation of Southern Indiana (CFSI) Capacity Building grants ($10,000 received). Funding supports relationship development, food rescue initiatives, and operational expansion.
3. Fundraising Events: Annual events including golf tournament (raised $70,000+), Big Green EGGFest (raised $250,000+ cumulative to local food charities), Turkey Stock food drive, and Give For Good Louisville generate significant revenue.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Support from corporations including food donors, sponsors of fundraising events, and corporate giving programs. Kentucky Harvest serves 60+ nonprofit partners who receive free food deliveries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Kentucky Harvest operates as a food rescue organization that coordinates same-day pickup of surplus food from 191+ food donor businesses (restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, bakeries, hospitals, school cafeterias, hotels, food manufacturers) and delivers it free of charge to 60+ nonprofit partner organizations serving people facing food insecurity. The Kentucky Harvest Mobile App, powered by the Food Rescue Hero platform, enables 763+ volunteers to sign up, set availability, receive pickup notifications, and complete food rescue deliveries, supporting 4,884+ successful rescues and 2+ million pounds of food rescued annually.

Product overview

Kentucky Harvest operates as a food rescue organization with a single mission-driven program called People Helping People. The core offering consists of the Kentucky Harvest Mobile App (powered by the Food Rescue Hero platform) that enables volunteers to coordinate food rescue logistics. The organization connects food donors (restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, schools, businesses) with nonprofit partners through same-day pickup and delivery of surplus food. Additional offerings include volunteer roles (Food Rescue Hero, Food Rescue Ambassador, Administrative Support), group volunteer events, and corporate food drive programs. The technology stack centers on the Food Rescue Hero platform which automates volunteer coordination, real-time tracking, and food rescue logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kentucky Harvest Mobile App A mobile application for volunteer coordination that enables individuals to sign up for food rescue missions, set their availability, receive notifications when surplus food is ready for pickup, and follow step-by-step delivery instructions to transport food from donor businesses to nonprofit partners serving people facing food insecurity.
• People Helping People Food Rescue Program Kentucky Harvest's primary program that rescues surplus food from restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, schools, businesses, and food drives, picks up and delivers the food the same day to nonprofit organizations including homeless shelters, addiction recovery centers, children's programs, schools, churches, and food pantries across a 6-county service area.
• Corporate Food Drive Program A workplace giving program where Kentucky Harvest provides collection boxes and coordinates convenient pickup for workplace giving campaigns or community service initiatives, enabling corporate and group donors to contribute to food rescue.
• Group Events / Food Rescue Takeover Corporate or group volunteer opportunities where teams coordinate multiple food rescues in a single day to maximize community impact, enabling organizations to engage employees in food rescue initiatives.
• Food Rescue Hero Volunteer Program A volunteer program where individuals pick up surplus food from stores and restaurants and deliver it to nonprofits serving people facing food insecurity, completing rescues in as little as 45 minutes per mission through the Food Rescue Hero mobile app.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2 million pounds of food rescued annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, flagship and minor.

• Food Rescue HerocoreTechnology or Integration · 8 November 2023Partnership with Food Rescue Hero to power Kentucky Harvest's mobile app for volunteer coordination. Kentucky Harvest became the sixteenth food rescue organization in North America to adopt the Food Rescue Hero technology platform, enabling 40% increase in food rescue capacity in first year.
• Papa John'smajorOthersMajor food donor partner contributing surplus food through the Food Rescue Hero app coordination system. One of 191 food donor locations helping Kentucky Harvest rescue over 2 million pounds of food annually.
• SyscomajorOthersFood distribution partner donating surplus food products. Sysco is among the key donor partners enabling large-scale food rescue operations.
• ThorntonsmajorOthersConvenience store chain operating as food donor partner. Contributes surplus food through coordinated pickup system.
• Maker's Mark and Keeneland Race CourseflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerKentucky Harvest was selected by Maker's Mark and Keeneland Race Course for their prestigious 'Greats of the Gate' bourbon series - a marketing/partnership opportunity that showcases the organization's work and provides high-visibility community recognition.
• Brownies 'The Shed'majorOthersRestaurant venue partner hosting the annual Turkey Stock food drive event in November. Co-founded by Jason Brown (deceased 2025) and Joey Wagner, collecting 5,000 frozen turkeys annually for Kentucky Harvest.
• Brownsboro Hardware & PaintminorOthersVenue host for annual Kentuckiana Big Green EGGFest. Over $250,000 has been donated to local food-related charities through previous EggFEST events.
• Coca-Cola ConsolidatedminorOthersCorporate sponsor/partner appearing in community partner logos section supporting Kentucky Harvest's mission.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 412 Food Rescue: Pittsburgh-based food rescue nonprofit using a volunteer-driven app platform to transport surplus food from businesses to nonprofit partners. Direct comparable in mission, model, and last-mile logistics approach.
• Food Rescue US: National food rescue organization that uses an app-based volunteer model to redirect surplus food from restaurants and grocers to nonprofits serving food-insecure communities. Highly comparable operating model and technology approach to Kentucky Harvest.
• City Harvest: New York City's largest food rescue organization, rescuing surplus food and delivering it free to a network of food pantries, soup kitchens, and other partners. Comparable food rescue logistics mission at a larger urban scale.
• Boston Area Gleaners: New England-based organization that gleans surplus produce from farms and rescues prepared food to distribute to hunger-relief partners. Comparable farm-and-business food rescue model with redistribution focus.
• Dare to Care: Louisville-based regional hunger relief organization distributing food to a network of partner agencies across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Operates in overlapping geography with overlapping nonprofit partner base.
• Rock and Wrap It Up!: National food rescue and surplus-food recovery nonprofit coordinating donations from entertainment venues, hospitality, and corporate cafeterias to anti-hunger agencies. Similar donor-and-recipient food recovery model.
• Food Shift: California-based food recovery organization focused on rescuing surplus food and addressing food waste through redistribution and workforce development. Comparable mission combining rescue with community impact.

Others

• ReFED: National nonprofit focused on data, policy, and innovation to reduce U.S. food waste. Not a direct operator, but a closely aligned ecosystem organization that informs and supports food rescue organizations like Kentucky Harvest.

Broad incumbents

• Atlanta Community Food Bank: Large regional food bank distributing millions of pounds of food annually across metro Atlanta through a network of partner agencies. Overlapping mission and partner-network model at significantly greater scale.

Regional players

• Glean Kentucky: Kentucky-focused gleaning and food rescue organization that recovers surplus produce from farms and distributes to food pantries across the state. Comparable rescue mission with strong regional adjacency to Kentucky Harvest's service area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kyharvest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kentucky-harvest
• Instagraminstagram.com/kentuckyharvest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 Kentucky Harvest, Inc.