About Us

Nonprofit Innovations Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger in the United States by ensuring that adequate, appropriate, and timely food assistance is available to everyone in need. To that end we develop, test, and promote tools and models that support and improve the practice of charitable food distribution.

We were founded in 2009 by longtime food bank leader (and Feeding America John van Hengel Fellow) the late John Arnold, and his son and frequent collaborator Jeff Thomas as an ongoing independent vehicle for their shared work to improve the charitable food system.

Current Projects

Mobile Food Pantries – As a member agency of Feeding America West Michigan, we work with our partners to distribute roughly 100,000 pounds of food per year to people in need on the south side of Grand Rapids. Our mobile food pantry distributions act as our test kitchen for new approaches to mobile food pantry operation.

Find a Food Pantry – In partnership with Tackle Hunger, we built a database of over 20,000 food pantries and similar resources across the United States, designed for people seeking food assistance and those who work with them.

End Hunger in America – An online resource for anyone wanting to learn how communities and individuals can effectively address the problem of hunger, including the publications How to Run a Food Pantry and Charity Food Programs That Can End Hunger in America.

FLIP – The Food Bank Logistics Information Planner is a software tool that helps regional food banks manage the logistics and program work that their ERP and CRM systems don’t.

Intaker – A web-based intake tool with versions tailored to fixed and mobile food pantries, designed to drive good practices and optimized for ease of use. Currently in use at Second Harvest Pantry and in pilot at our two mobile pantry sites.

Contact Us

Board of Directors