Feeding America: Breaking The Cycle Of Hunger In America
In 1979, John van Hengel founded Feeding America a response to the hunger crisis in America. It all began in St. Marys in Arizona with the nations first food bank . Today, Feeding America is a collection of more than 200 food banks that serve food insecure individuals and families across America.
Their impact and transparency ratings: Feeding America has upheld a 4-out-of-4-star rating on Charity Navigator since 2012. They have an overall score of 92% and a 97% score for accountability and transparency. On GuideStar, Feeding America has a gold rating for transparency.
Food today. Food security tomorrow.
Feeding America
What they do: Feeding America has two main goals: to provide healthy and nourishing meals to families struggling with hunger and to help secure ways for these people to get food in the future. Together, these two goals allow them to offer the food support Americans so desperately need, as well as break the cycle of hunger once and for all. In addition, they also fight to stop food waste, as all the food in America would be enough to feed every person, yet tons of food goes to waste each year.
What theyve achieved: Feeding America feeds 40 million people at risk of hunger, including 12 million children by providing 6 billion meals annually. They currently have over 60,000 food pantries in their network, which are part of 200 food banks found across the nation.
Charity Navigator’s Top 10 Outstanding Food Banks
Serving people in needAlleviate hunger and its root causesFighting hunger, feeding hopeAlleviating hunger, nourishing stronger communitiesNourishing Siouxlands needyLeading the charge to relieve hunger for our Miami Valley neighborsTogether we can solve hungerEnabling community organizations to end hungerFighting hunger togetherOur vision: A hunger-free communityCharity Navigators Advanced Search ToolFood for Thought: Charity Navigator Talks Supporting Your Local Food BankAs a 501 organization itself, Charity Navigator depends on public support to help donors make informed choices. Please consider investing in the future of Charity Navigator by making a donation today. Donate now > >
Consolidated Assets: $5775 Billion
Coming in fifth with $577.5 billion in consolidated assets, the Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank recently launched the nation’s first Spanish-language voice assistant banking app. U.S. Bank has 2,200 bank branches across 26 states. The ATM network partners with MoneyPass to give customers access to thousands of ATMs nationwide. The banking app allows you to share your location while traveling to avoid banking service interruptions while away from home.
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Distributing Food Where Its Needed Most
With the help of farmers, wholesalers, restaurants, community members, and others, we source the food for over 45 million meals each year. And thanks to our hundreds of partners in the community, were able to get that food to the individuals and families who need it most.
450+ Food Assistance Partners
Bank Of New York Mellon

When the New York Stock Exchange opened in 1792, the Bank of New York was the first company traded. Today, Bank of New York Mellon is an investment company that serves different corporations and institutions as well as individual investors. Private banking services are available for its wealthy clients.
Assets: $365.10 billion
Headquarters: New York
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Consolidated Assets: $176 Trillion
Wells Fargo has occupied the third spot on the Fed’s list for the past three years. While it’s had a few rocky years dealing with criminal and civil lawsuits involving fraudulent sales practices and recent investigations ofintofake hiring practices, Wells Fargo remains a banking giant in the US, with 4,700 retail banking locations and more than 12,000 ATMs.
Consolidated Assets: $5310 Billion
Truist Bank, formed by a merger between BB& T and SunTrust Bank in 2019, operates in 17 states across the southeastern US and the District of Columbia. Charlotte, NC-based Truist has 2,100 bank branches and offers customers access to more than 2,000 ATMs. Truist recently launched Truist One Banking accounts which provides eligible customers access to traditional banking services without overdraft fees.
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Through A Network With More Than 1600 Hunger Relief Charities We Are Able To Service 18 Counties In The Southeast Texas Area
Largest Food Bank In The U.S.
The Houston Food Bank is the largest food bank in the United States in size and distribution. We serve a network of more than 1,600 community partners in 18 southeast Texas counties, including food pantries, soup kitchens, meal sites and shelters. With their help, we were able to provide access to more than 150 million meals in FY 2022.
Our Partner Distribution Organizations
A PDO is a smaller regional food bank that manages local food assistance programs in their county. Houston Food Bank currently partners with:
Contact Us
At Largest Food Bank In Us 1 Million Pounds Of Food Daily For Needy
In car lines that can stretch half a mile , workers who lost jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic and other needy people receive staggering amounts of food distributed by the Houston Food Bank. On some days, the hundreds of sites supplied by the country’s largest food bank collectively get 1 million pounds.
Among the ranks of recipients is unemployed construction worker Herman Henton, whose wife is a home improvement store worker and now the sole breadwinner for their family of five. They tried to get food stamps but were told they only qualified for $25 of federal food assistance monthly.
As a man, as a father, as a provider I felt at a low point. I felt low,” Henton said as he waited in his car near West Houston Assistance Ministries, which gets food from the Houston Food Bank for its care packages aimed at helping feed families for a week. “In this type of situation theres nothing you can really do.
Distributions by the Houston Food Bank now average about 800,000 pounds daily after reaching the unprecedented 1 million pound mark for the first time in the spring, a level that the organization still delivers periodically.
Before the coronavirus struck, the group’s average daily distribution was 450,000 pounds , said Houston Food Bank President Brian Greene.
Then workers in Houston and millions around the country were suddenly thrown out of work and forced to rely on the handouts.
It can happen to anyone, he said.
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The Feeding America Network
Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs that provides food and services to people each year. Together, we are the nations largest domestic hunger-relief organization. When you contribute to Feeding America, you are joining our efforts in nearly every community in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Which Food Banks Are The Largest In America
Welcome to the Food Bank News list of the largest 300 food banks in America, by revenue.
Weve compiled this resource as a way to better understand the organizations that have become so critical to fighting food insecurity across the country. From a single organization formed about 50 years ago, the food-banking network has evolved into an essential part of the fabric of our society. What do we know about this network as a whole?
First of all, its larger than many people might think. While many may be familiar with the fact that 200 food banks make up the Feeding America network, there are other types of food banks out there. In addition to the 200 of Feeding America, there are about 70 partner distribution organizations. These entities are generally smaller in size than the 200 that make up Feeding Americas primary list, but they are nonetheless food banks, working with the main 200 to help distribute food more locally.
In addition to those two sets of food banks, there are dozens of independent food banks across the country. We counted 57 of them within the top 300. Many independents are on the small side, but a handful are huge. Two of them Feed the Children of Oklahoma and Midwest Food Bank of Illinois are the largest in the country. Another, Farm Share of Florida, is the twelfth biggest.
The Top 100 food banksFood banks from #101 to #300Food banks by stateIndependent food banks within the Top 300and more
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Shocking Facts About Food Banks In America
After the financial crisis of 2007, pandemic 2020 tore the US apart, which led to the loss of jobs and households, illness, and food insecurity. Here are some shocking facts:
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No Kid Hungry: Leading The Fight Against Childhood Hunger

In 2010, No Kid Hungry was launched by the international charity Share Our Strength to completely eradicate childhood hunger in America. They seek to do this through their grants and advocacy programs. While Share Our Strength is an international charity, they founded No Kid Hungry to have a more local focus in the United States.
Their impact and transparency ratings: No Kid Hungry has an 84% rating on Charity Navigator, including a 97% for accountability and transparency. In addition, they received the Good Housekeeping Humanitarian Seal.
No child should go hungry.
No Kid Hungry
What they do: No Kid Hungry, as the name suggests, believes that every kid throughout America deserves the nutritious food they need to grow. They primarily focus on ending childhood hunger, which they do by providing grants to schools and other partner organizations. They also perform a lot of advocacy work to ensure government officials support policies that will protect their mission.
What theyve achieved: No Kid Hungry sent $74 million to schools in March and April of 2020 alone, which is the largest private donation ever towards school meal programs. Their advocacy also increased the SNAP program by 15% to give about $25 per month to working families and waived restrictions on schools in how they can feed kids.
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Consolidated Assets: $5349 Billion
The result of the largest bank merger of its time, the Pittsburgh National and Provident National banks took their shared initials and formed PNC Bank in 1983. Since then, this Pittsburgh-based bank has focused its operation in the Midwest, Northeast, and South. In November 2020, PNC agreed to pay $11.6 billion to acquire BBVA USA, a regional bank operating mainly in southern and western states. As of March, PNC Bank had 2,600 branches across the US.
Loaves And Fishes: Providing Nutritious Groceries
In 1975, a small group of church members in North Carolina knew they needed to face a growing issue food insecurity. Together they started Loaves and Fishes, which already served 1000 people in its first year alone. Today theyre a network of food pantries serving thousands.
Their impact and transparency ratings: Loaves and Fishes has a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator. This includes a 95% financial score and a perfect score of 100% for accountability and transparency.
Groceries for neighbors in need.
Loaves and Fishes
What they do: Loaves and Fishes provides groceries on a per-week basis to individuals and families suffering from food shortages. Rather than just providing them with random food items, they put the needs of those they serve first. They make their choices a priority and provide them with the foods theyre likely to eat. They also work with a registered dietician to make sure the groceries serve all their health needs.
What theyve achieved: Each year, Loaves and Fishes serves 119,750 people in need of groceries. For example, in 2020 alone, Loaves and Fishes raised $3.4 million in food donations.
Ways to contribute: You can make a direct donation to the organization, which gives you an option to appear on their Donor Honor Roll. They also have plenty of ways to get involved, including volunteering and starting a food drive.
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Feeding Wisconsin Is The Statewide Association Of The Feeding America Food Banks That Sources Warehouses And Provides Food To Over 750 Affiliated Agencies And 1000 Local Food Programs Throughout The State
Our vision is a hunger-free Wisconsin and our mission is to help our food banks and partners fight hunger, improve health and strengthen local communities so that everybody in Wisconsin has access to the food and benefits they need to work, learn, play and live healthy lives.
We assist our food banks to raise statewide food and funds, increasing awareness about hunger in Wisconsin, strengthen public and private solutions to hunger and food insecurity, and catalyze the statewide public-private partnerships so that we can all stride Forward together toward a hunger-free Wisconsin.
Consolidated Assets: $4746 Billion
Goldman Sachs landed on the top 10 on the Fed’s list for the first time this year. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the venerable New York-based multinational investment bank and financial services firm has been rebuilding its brand and has reported $474.6 billion in consolidated assets. Marcus by Goldman Sachs, the consumer banking arm that launched in 2016, offers competitive rates on savings accounts and CDs, but doesn’t offer checking or money market accounts.
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The Need For Feeding America
As the number of food banks began to increase, van Hengel created a national organization for food banks, and in 1979 he established Second Harvest, which was later called Americas Second Harvest, the Nations Food Bank Network. In 2008, the network changed its name to Feeding America to better reflect the organization’s mission.
City Harvest: Ending Hunger In New York City
Founded in 1982, City Harvest began as a group of New Yorkers who were discontent with all the food going to waste rather than going to those who needed it. Partnering with retailers, restaurants, vehicle owners, and anyone else willing to help, they started a successful hotline. The food went directly to local soup kitchens and food pantries. Today, they serve over a million people and save many thousands of pounds of food from going to waste each year.
Their impact and transparency ratings: City Harvest has a 92% rating on Charity Navigator and has their highest star rating of 4 stars. They also received a platinum seal from GuideStar in 2019 for transparency.
Rescuing food for NYC.
City Harvest
What they do: City Harvest works to end hunger in New York City. They do this by distributing food to their partner organizations that would otherwise go to waste, bringing nutritious meals to thousands. They deliver food throughout New York, all for free. They also seek to educate and provide opportunities for the communities they serve to ensure long-lasting food security rather than just meeting immediate needs.
What theyve achieved: As New York Citys largest food rescue organization, theyve saved 950 million pounds of food from going to waste to date. For each additional year, they plan to add to that total by rescuing at least 150 million pounds of food for their partner organizations, which will feed around 1.5 million New Yorkers.
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Heres What All The Best Charities That Fight Hunger In America Have In Common
The charities in this list were all chosen based on their exemplary impact on the communities they serve. They all share a common goal of providing meals for individuals and families enduring financial hardships, whether temporary or ongoing.
From nationwide organizations to regional food banks, they all help to end hunger in America in their own ways. And they all have excellent charity scores too.
Consolidated Assets: $348 Trillion

New York-based JPMorgan Chase Bank tops the Federal Reserve’s list of largest banks by consolidated assets owned at $3.48 trillion, of which $2.65 trillion represents assets owned domestically. Chase Bank is the consumer banking arm of JPMorgan Chase. There are more than 4,800 US branches, more than 16,000 domestic ATMs and 34 international banking branches. Chase Bank serves customers in more than 100 countries with offices in the Americas, Europe, North Africa and Asia.
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Food Bank For The Heartland: Collaboration To End Hunger
Food Bank for the Heartland was founded in 1981 for the purpose of distributing food to schools, food pantries, and other organizations. In 2011, their volume increased so much they moved to their current 76,000 square foot facility to distribute millions of meals each year to those in need. They believe fighting hunger is an ongoing collaborative effort, so they also pool their resources with food manufacturers, the USDA, and more.
Their impact and transparency ratings: Food Bank for the Heartland has a 93% rating on Charity Navigator, and have maintained or went above this rating each year since 2010. They also received a gold award for transparency from GuideStar.
To eliminate hunger in our community.
Food Bank for the Heartland
What they do: Food Bank for the Heartland seeks to end hunger, which they do through providing food supplies to those who need it most, whether on an emergency or supplementary basis. They also firmly believe in education and have nutrition resources and recipes freely available to ensure their food nourishes the people they serve.
What theyve achieved: In 2020 alone, they provided 281 million meals, which was over 5 million up from the previous year. This included 6.8 million pounds of fresh produce, which went to their 610 network partners.