Welcome to Food Bank News’ 2023 list of America’s largest 300 food banks by revenue.
The headline news of our Top 300 Food Banks ranking is that revenue for food banks is down overall, in line with the diminishing impact of Covid on the economy. In fiscal year 2022, the top 300 food banks registered revenue of nearly $16 billion, down from almost $19 billion a year earlier. That $19 billion was a record, reflecting revenue during the throes of Covid, when giving in the form of personal donations, government grants, and donated food were elevated.
Revenue for a food bank is not the same as revenue generated by a private or public company. Most of a food bank’s “revenue” comes from in-kind food donations, which are immediately distributed back out into the community. Other revenue comes in from government and foundation grants and individual contributions. For the most part then, “revenue” is an indicator of how much food and cash that food banks receive, most of which goes right back out into the community in the form of distributed food. In effect, revenue is a measure of how much good a food bank can do.
As recovery from Covid began in 2021, food banks began seeing fewer donations. “The disaster is perceived to be over,” said Brian Greene, President and Chief Executive Officer of Houston Food Bank. “But most food banks have never been through a major disaster before this, and some of them have to learn how to ramp down, which is way harder than ramping up.”
The drop in food-bank revenue is occurring at the same time that demand and expectations from clients are very high. One impact of the pandemic is that it gave the charitable food system more exposure to the public than it had ever had before. “Our partners and the neighbors just got used to how much we were distributing,” Greene noted. “Then, expectations are really high.”
Some observers have noted that high inflation has boosted demand for charitable food. “Inflation is not as big a driver as you would think,” Greene said, noting, “We never meet the need.” Demand, need and high expectations, he said, “are a way bigger driver than inflation.”
These revenue numbers come from food banks’ most recently filed Form 990s or audited financial statements and predominantly reflect activity from July 2021 through June 2022 or the 2022 calendar year.
The largest food bank in the country reported revenue of nearly $434 million, down from the top food bank’s revenue of $599 million in the previous year. However, on the low end, food bank #300 had just over $5.3 million, slightly more than the lowest-ranked food bank in 2021.
While many may be familiar with the fact that about 200 food banks make up the Feeding America network, there are other types of food banks out there. For example, there are scores of Feeding America “affiliates,” which are broken out into their own category in this year’s Tableau report (indicated in green), that work with the main 200 to distribute food more locally.
There are also more than 70 independent food banks nationwide that are not part of the Feeding America network. While many independent food banks are on the small side, they also continue to be among the largest food banks in the country. This year, the independent food bank Midwest Food Bank in Illinois and Feed the Children in Oklahoma are the country’s first and second largest food banks.
Some food banks did show revenue growth, with the fastest-growing food bank being the Fairbanks Community Food Bank Service in Alaska, which had 220% revenue growth from the previous year.
For those among the many that did not see revenue growth, Greene offers some words of advice on what to focus on moving forward. “What are the surplus opportunities? Where are the volunteers and what’s the money you can get? What are the partnerships you’ve built out and the infrastructure you’ve got? Greene said. “Put it all together. What can you do at any given time?”
Like last year, our report is published as a Tableau data dashboard and offers interactive data snapshots. It shows: the Top 300 food banks; food banks by state; independent food banks within the Top 300, and more. With the list, we hope to advance knowledge and understanding of all the players working to solve food insecurity in America. Check it out here. — Zachary Smith
Zachary Smith, a former Food Bank News intern, is Data Reporter at Cleveland.com.
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