What Food Link does

Food Link is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food rescue organization founded in 2012 (originally operating as the Food Recovery Project) and headquartered in Arlington, Massachusetts (EIN 47-1840355). The organization collects surplus fresh food from grocery retailers, food distributors, and farms and redistributes it free of charge to a network of more than 120 recipient social-service agencies serving 53 communities across Greater Boston. Since inception, Food Link has rescued over 10 million pounds of food, with approximately 2 million pounds rescued in 2025 alone. Operations are powered by more than 1,000 volunteers and 15 paid staff across two physical hubs — its original Arlington facility and a second hub in Roxbury launched in August 2025 through a partnership with the YMCA — supported by a fleet of refrigerated vehicles that preserve cold-chain integrity for perishable donations.

Food Link's core technology asset is FLIP, a custom operational platform built on Salesforce that tracks donations, deliveries, and recipient allocations; a public-facing volunteer portal was launched in February 2024 to broaden volunteer onboarding and scheduling. The platform provides real-time visibility into supply, demand, and routing across the agency's footprint and represents the organization's principal systems investment of the past three years. FLIP is built on top of a third-party commercial CRM rather than proprietary infrastructure, so the organization's competitive position rests on its operational execution and stakeholder network rather than on technology differentiation.

As a registered nonprofit, Food Link's revenue model is contribution-based. Funding sources include individual donations, foundation grants (anchored by a $500,000, ten-year Cummings Foundation commitment made in May 2022), corporate sponsorships, and community events such as the annual Ride & Stride, which raised roughly $35,000 in 2025 earmarked for a new refrigerated van. The organization also completed a $3.25 million capital campaign in January 2022 to acquire and equip its Arlington headquarters. Food Link publishes a $1 donated = $2 of food rescued impact ratio as its principal value-for-money metric. Its customer set is split between (a) donor retailers, distributors, and farms on the supply side and (b) 120+ recipient agencies on the demand side, with no single counterparty disclosed as dominant on either side.

Name

Food Link

Legal name

Food Link, Inc.

Website

https://foodlinkma.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Food Link is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that rescues surplus fresh food from retailers, distributors, and farms and redistributes it free of charge to 120+ social-service agencies across 53 Greater Boston communities, operating hubs in Arlington and Roxbury with 1,000+ volunteers and 15 staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Hunger relief programs
• Food redistribution
• Nonprofit food bank
• Volunteer coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting food rescue operations. Includes monthly giving circle (Feed The Need), one-time gifts, stock donations, and planned giving/bequests.
2. Corporate Matching Gifts: Employer matching gift programs where companies match employee donations to Food Link
3. Volunteer Grant Programs: Corporate-sponsored volunteer incentives where companies make gifts to Food Link after employees volunteer their time
4. Foundation Grants: Grant funding from foundations including Cummings Foundation ($50,000/year for 10 years), Audax Charitable Foundation, and government ARPA funding
5. Government Grants: Funding from government sources including Food Security Infrastructure Grant for vehicles and CDBG funding for building purchase
6. Food Donations (In-Kind): High-quality fresh food donations from food retailers, distributors, and farms including supermarkets, wholesalers, production facilities, and farms

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Food Link rescues high-quality surplus fresh food — produce, vegetables, meat, dairy, bread, and prepared foods — from food retailers, distributors, wholesalers, and farms, then redistributes it through customized deliveries to 120+ recipient agencies (food pantries, schools, senior centers, low-income housing, veterans centers, refugee programs) serving food-insecure communities across 53 Greater Boston communities. Operations are powered by 1,000+ volunteers working seven days a week at hubs in Arlington and Roxbury.

Product overview

Food Link is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food rescue organization operating a single integrated food rescue and distribution program. The organization runs two physical operations hubs (Arlington and Roxbury) and coordinates volunteers through its FLIP volunteer management system. Food Link rescues surplus fresh food from donors and redistributes it to recipient agencies serving food-insecure populations across 53 Greater Boston communities. The organization does not offer a software product; its offerings consist entirely of food rescue program services and associated donation/volunteer engagement programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Rescue and Distribution Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Rescued 2 million lbs of fresh food in 2025 alone, equivalent to 1.7 million meals
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• YMCA Greater Boston Collaborative Food Access Hub (GBCFAH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Roxbury location partnership where Food Link operates out of the YMCA's hub, expanding food rescue program to Roxbury. In December 2025, moved over 80,000 lbs through this location.
• Kickstand CaféminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2025Local business partnership for customer round-up donations to raise funds for Food Link's food rescue operations.
• Minuteman Regional Technical High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Culinary program partnership where Food Link coordinates distribution of prepared ready-to-eat meals from the school's culinary program to recipient agencies.
• Tierney Learning CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Received donated previous refrigeration and freezer units from Food Link when the Hub opened with new walk-in fridge and freezer.
• Daybreak Shelter (Lawrence)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Substance abuse education and support services organization that received donated refrigeration units from Food Link.
• Eastern Service Workers Association (Dorchester)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Benefits provider for service and low-income workers in Boston that received donated refrigeration units from Food Link.
• Tufts University (Carmichael Dining Hall)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Provided storage space for food at Carmichael Dining Hall during COVID-19 pandemic to allow Food Link to serve more partners.
• Accardi FoodsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Food distributor in Medford, MA that provided storage space for Food Link during the pandemic to enable serving more partner agencies.
• Moving Companies PartnershipsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnerships with moving companies established during COVID-19 to move larger loads of food and take on expanded operations.
• Boston Area GleanersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural gleaning organization that partners with Food Link to rescue fresh produce like corn for distribution to communities in need.
• Whole FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor food retail partner that donates surplus food for rescue and distribution to communities in need.
• Trader Joe'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood retail partner donating surplus food as part of Food Link's food rescue operations.
• CostcominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholesale partner that donated large quantities of food including 1,600 lbs of SPAM in a notable 2022 rescue.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boston Area Gleaners: Boston Area Gleaners is a Massachusetts-based food rescue organization that recovers surplus produce from local farms and distributes it to hunger-relief partners. Food Link explicitly partners with them, and they share the same volunteer-driven, fresh-food-rescue model in the same geography.
• Lovin' Spoonfuls: Lovin' Spoonfuls is a Greater Boston food rescue nonprofit that picks up surplus food from businesses and delivers it to community partners. It directly competes with Food Link for retail donors, volunteer hours, and recipient agencies in the same Eastern Massachusetts service area.
• Greater Boston Food Bank: Greater Boston Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, operating a food bank model that sources, warehouses, and distributes food to partner agencies across eastern Massachusetts. It is the closest direct peer to Food Link in both geography and mission, though it operates at substantially larger scale.
• Food Rescue US: Food Rescue US is a national food rescue platform that connects volunteer drivers with surplus food from businesses to recipient agencies via a mobile app. It executes the same core activity (rescuing and redirecting surplus food to feed people in need) using a tech-enabled volunteer model.

Broad incumbents

• City Harvest: City Harvest is the New York City food rescue organization that collects surplus food from restaurants, grocers, and farms and redistributes it to soup kitchens and food pantries. It is a much larger, more established peer operating the same core food-rescue-to-agencies model in a different metro.
• FoodForward: FoodForward is a Southern California food rescue organization that recovers surplus produce and groceries and redistributes to communities in need. It runs a scaled, multi-program food rescue operation comparable in mission to Food Link, but at significantly larger scale.
• Second Harvest of Silicon Valley: Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is one of the largest food banks in the United States, distributing food to a broad network of partner agencies in the Bay Area. It shares the core surplus-food-redistribution mission with Food Link, but operates at far greater scale across a different metro.

Regional players

• Merrimack Valley Food Bank: Merrimack Valley Food Bank is a Massachusetts-based regional food bank serving 33 cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley. It operates the same food bank / food rescue model as Food Link but in a different region of the state, and a Food Link board member sits on its board.
• Worcester County Food Bank: Worcester County Food Bank is the regional food bank serving central Massachusetts, distributing food to partner agencies across Worcester County. It mirrors Food Link's food-rescue-and-redistribution model in a different part of the state.
• Food Bank of Western Massachusetts: Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is the regional food bank serving Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties. It pursues the same surplus-food redistribution mission as Food Link, but operates in Western Massachusetts rather than Eastern Massachusetts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/foodlinkma
• Instagraminstagram.com/_foodlinkma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Food Link