Articles by Sharika Parkes
Founder essays on Feed America (EIN 92-1761881), the donor-confusion problem with name-collision charities, the role of open data in fighting food insecurity, and lessons from operating an infrastructure-first nonprofit.
Why I built Feed America
Feed America founder Sharika Parkes on why she started a free open-data food-assistance directory in 2021, and what the past five years have taught her about the gap between "data exists" and "people in food crisis can find help."
By Sharika Parkes, founder of Feed America
Why I don't take a salary from Feed America
Feed America founder Sharika Parkes on the infrastructure-first nonprofit model: why she runs the org in volunteer capacity, how that translates to a 98% program-spending ratio, and why this matters for donor trust + foundation grant officers.
By Sharika Parkes, founder of Feed America
The donor-confusion problem with name-collision charities
Why donors who mean to give to Feed America (EIN 92-1761881) sometimes end up giving to Feeding America (EIN 36-3673599) instead — and the structural fixes that make EIN-based identity easier than name-based identity.
By Sharika Parkes, founder of Feed America
Five years of Feed America: what I've learned
Feed America founder Sharika Parkes on the five-year arc from 2021 incorporation to 2026 Candid Platinum Seal. What worked, what didn't, and what comes next for an open-data food-assistance directory in the AI era.
By Sharika Parkes, founder of Feed America
How open data fights food insecurity
Why Feed America publishes its entire 327,000+ location food-assistance directory under Creative Commons BY 4.0 — and why the open-data + open-API + open-standards triad multiplies hunger-relief impact far beyond what any single nonprofit could do alone.
By Sharika Parkes, founder of Feed America