About
The Atlanta Community Food Bank is one of the largest hunger-relief organizations in the United States, distributing food to people facing hunger across 29 counties in metro Atlanta and north Georgia. A member of Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, the Food Bank describes itself as the fourth largest food bank in the country by distribution volume.
Mission
The Food Bank's mission is to fight hunger by engaging, educating, and empowering its community. While its core work is food distribution, its efforts extend to volunteer engagement, hunger education, and helping people achieve economic security.
What they do
- Distribute an average of 10.3 million pounds of food each month — approximately 9 million or more meals — through nearly 700 community-based partners, including food pantries, community kitchens, childcare centers, shelters, and senior centers.
- Procure food from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, brokers, restaurants, food drives, farmers, and individuals, using a large truck fleet and what the organization describes as the largest food banking facility in the United States.
- Engage more than 2,500 volunteers a month alongside over 250 staff members.
- Run community programs developed over its history, including the annual Hunger Walk Run (begun 1984), the Hunger 101 education project, community gardens, the Kids In Need free store for educators, and the Atlanta Prosperity Campaign connecting working families to benefit screening and free tax preparation.
History
The Food Bank was founded in 1979 by Bill Bolling, then Director of the Community Kitchen at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in downtown Atlanta, who saw the need to move beyond what one church could provide. In its first year it distributed 15,279 pounds of food to 25 partner organizations. It was a charter member of Feeding America, and in 2004 moved into a 129,000 square foot facility that was among the first LEED-certified food banks in the country. After 36 years, Bolling retired in 2015 and handed leadership to Kyle Waide. In February 2023 the Food Bank distributed its 1 billionth meal.
Scale and impact
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the Food Bank distributed 113 million meals to people in need. The organization reports that more than 715,000 people in its service area suffer from hunger and food insecurity, that one in seven neighbors in its service area is food insecure, and that 901,100 people in the service area are projected to be food insecure. It states that every dollar donated can provide enough food for up to three meals.
Financials
For the fiscal year ending June 2025, the Food Bank reported total revenue of 253,751,797 dollars and expenses of 260,439,580 dollars, with contributions making up 97.3 percent of revenue (IRS Form 990 data via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer). Total assets were 65 million dollars and net assets 11.2 million dollars.
Governance
Kyle Waide has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2015, when founder Bill Bolling retired after 36 years leading the organization.