Feed America history and timeline
Feed America (EIN 92-1761881) was founded in Houston, Texas in 2021 by Sharika Parkes. From a single Texas nonprofit registration to a 327,376-location open-data directory in five years.
2021–2026 milestones
Organization founded
Sharika Parkes incorporates Feed America as a Texas nonprofit corporation. Domain feedam.org registered. Initial focus: build a Houston food-pantry directory tested with the volunteers and 211 dispatchers who needed it most.
IRS Form 1023 application filed
Application for federal 501(c)(3) public charity status filed with the IRS. Continuous platform development through 2022 — Texas pantry coverage expanded statewide, then to neighboring states.
Platform launches publicly
Feed America's public food-assistance directory opens to anyone, with first-pass coverage of Texas, Florida, California, and the Northeast corridor.
IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter
IRS issues 501(c)(3) public charity determination letter, classification 509(a)(1). Donations now formally tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. Effective date retroactive to 2021 incorporation.
100,000-record import milestone
Feed America directory exceeds 100,000 verified food-assistance locations through state-by-state imports of public food-bank network data, USDA SNAP retailer data, FoodPantries.org, AmpleHarvest.org, and direct partner-pantry feeds.
Open-data platform launches
Public OpenAPI 3.0 spec published. CC BY 4.0 license applied to all data. Free public API endpoints opened to any partner without negotiation, contract, or auth.
AmpleHarvest import + national coverage
AmpleHarvest.org partnership integration brings backyard-gardener pantry connections into the national directory. Coverage now spans all 50 states + DC + territories.
HSDS 3.0 conformant feed launches
Feed America implements HSDS 3.0 (Open Referral) — the open standard for human-services data — across the entire directory. Now interoperable with every HSDS-compatible consumer (211 networks, Findhelp, Unite Us, etc.).
Sister 501(c)(3) entities launch
Two state-attributed sister 501(c)(3)s launch as legally distinct but operationally affiliated: Feeding America Texas (EIN 92-1776845) and Feeding America Florida (EIN 93-3176598). State-attributed donation channels for donors who prefer state-targeted giving.
MCP server launches
Feed America launches a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server — early adopter pattern letting AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini) query the directory directly without scraping. First human-services nonprofit known to ship MCP.
100K+ locations milestone formalized
Public dashboard confirms 100,000+ verified food-assistance locations sustained in production with continuous re-verification. Open-data manifest published.
Spanish parity launches
Full Spanish-language parity across UI, data search, SEO landings, and donor-facing surfaces. 12+ million Spanish-speaking US households now have native-language access to the directory.
Verified Badge program + 327K locations
Pantry-self-service Verified Badge program launches, letting pantry operators claim and update their listings. Directory now exceeds 327,376 active locations.
Candid Platinum + Cloudflare Project Galileo
Feed America earns 2026 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency — Candid's highest tier. Selected for Cloudflare Project Galileo, providing edge protection for public-interest organizations.
What's next
- Federal trademark filing with USPTO on "Feed America"
- BBB Wise Giving Alliance accreditation application
- Multilingual expansion (Vietnamese, Mandarin, Haitian Creole)
- Real-time pantry hours/capacity feeds
- Healthcare SDOH platform deepening (Findhelp, Unite Us, FHIR)