Food Lifeline
Food Lifeline is a public charity based in Seattle, Washington. Its mission is to feed people experiencing hunger today while working to end hunger for tomorrow. It distributes food through partner agencies and makes grants to organizations supporting food access and community-led food justice work.
Food Lifeline at a glance
In short: Food Lifeline gave $112.2M across 325 grants in 2025 (avg $345K), mostly in Washington. 12% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $112,161,113
- +0.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 325
- -1.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $345,111
- +1.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $129,542
- Total assets
- $30,431,831
- -4.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 12% first-time grantees (39 of 325, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Washington (98% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Food Lifeline
- Contact
Mailing address: 815 S 96Th Street, Seattle, WA 98108
Phone: (206) 545-6600
Website: https://foodlifeline.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Food Lifeline funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Praisealujah ($4.0M). Together the top 10 received $24.7M.
Grant Size Distribution
1,623 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 467 grants of 1,623 (29%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Food Lifeline describes its work as serving Western Washington. Its website refers to a 17-county service area and says seven counties have the highest levels of racial disparity and disproportionate food insecurity. In filing year 2025, 98% of grant dollars went to recipients in Washington and 2% to recipients in Oregon; the reported shares for Hawaii, California, and Arizona were each 0%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 325 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Food Lifeline open to new grantees?
12%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 39 of 325 grantees (12%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $287K; repeat grants $353K. How we count
Medians: $73K first-time, $132K repeat.
- 87% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+8%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $95.3M (2019) to $118.1M (2023). In 2025 it made 325 grants totaling $112.2M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Praisealujah Burien, WA | FOOD | $3,961,162 |
| Thurston County Food Bank Olympia, WA | FOOD | $3,380,445 |
| Ntemc Snohomish, WA | FOOD | $3,099,191 |
| Blaine Food Bank Blaine, WA | FOOD | $2,993,796 |
| Marysville Community Food Bank Marysville, WA | FOOD | $2,255,015 |
| Bellingham Food Bank Bellingham, WA | Community Food Sovereignty Fund | $1,913,369 |
| Helping Hands Food Bank Sedro-Woolley, WA | FOOD | $1,903,968 |
| Parkway Community Services Tacoma, WA | FOOD | $1,793,940 |
| Ballard Food Bank Seattle, WA | FOOD | $1,729,072 |
| Oregon Food Bank Portland, OR | FOOD | $1,697,846 |
Ready to take the next step with Food Lifeline?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $30,431,831 | $156,540,053 | $162,299,778 | $112,161,113 | 325 | $42,597 |
| 2024 | $31,971,447 | $150,488,579 | $156,836,739 | $111,807,909 | 329 | $8,214 |
| 2023 | $35,730,581 | $157,481,704 | $158,605,263 | $118,137,894 | 341 | $7,161 |
| 2022 | $33,157,057 | $129,427,157 | $133,474,337 | $104,314,291 | 302 | $193,894 |
| 2021 | $44,381,022 | $154,037,711 | $143,079,687 | $115,408,058 | 326 | $99,993 |
| 2020 | $56,881,557 | $147,819,082 | $132,524,743 | $113,126,287 | 350 | $45,604 |
| 2019 | $38,269,747 | $112,787,748 | $110,621,319 | $95,280,699 | 323 | $76,349 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
Food Lifeline’s mission is to feed people experiencing hunger today while working to end hunger for tomorrow. It describes nutritious, culturally relevant food as a basic human right and identifies poverty, systemic racism, wealth inequity, and social injustice as drivers of hunger and food insecurity. It also emphasizes advocacy and the leadership of people with lived experience of hunger.
Its grants support food banks and other community organizations, as well as neighbor- and community-driven approaches to food justice and food sovereignty. Among 2025 grantees, Thurston County Food Bank said its mission is to end hunger in its community; Marysville Community Food Bank described its mission as nourishing neighbors’ bodies, hearts, and souls; and Oregon Food Bank said it works to eliminate hunger and its root causes. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not Food Lifeline’s.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Food Lifeline reported 325 grants totaling $112,161,113. Grant amounts ranged from $6,905 to $3,961,162, with a median of $129,542.
Among the largest 2025 grants were $3,961,162 to PRAISEALUJAH, $3,380,445 to Thurston County Food Bank, $3,099,191 to NTEMC, $2,993,796 to Blaine Food Bank, and $2,255,015 to Marysville Community Food Bank. The listed purposes were generally “FOOD”; Bellingham Food Bank’s $1,913,369 grant was for the Community Food Sovereignty Fund. Food Lifeline also gave $1,697,846 to Oregon Food Bank.
The Community Food Sovereignty Fund supports neighbor- and community-driven approaches to food justice and food sovereignty. Food Lifeline says that since 2021 it has awarded $2.75 million through 71 grants. For fiscal year 2026, it budgeted $600,000 for the Fund and reported awarding $430,000 to 14 returning partners for projects in Skagit, Whatcom, King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 325 grants totaling $112 million.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Benjamin Hill as chair, Cara Figgins as chair-elect, and Cara Peterman as treasurer. It lists Angela Troy, Ben Chao, Brett Manning, Corey Limbaugh, Derek Chaves, Etienne Patout, and Jason Froggatt as members.
Food Lifeline is led by Robert Ojeda, President & CEO since 2025 (on filings since 2024); 11 of 28 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Robert Ojeda
President & CEO
President & CEO Start May → President & CEO, 2025
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$247K (2025)
Benjamin Hill
Chair
Board Member → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Nikole Krause-Thompson
Director of People & Culture
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$108K (2023) → $131K (2025)
Amythst Eve Shipman
Director of Business Operations
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$126K (2024) → $141K (2025)
Casey Sarah Mae Crane
Director of Food Resources & Volunteer Prod
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$121K (2025)
Sohroosh Hashemi
Project Development Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$123K (2025)
Tiffani E Kaech
COO
Cpo → COO, 2025
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$110K (2019) → $206K (2025)
Geoffrey Scott
CDO
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$130K (2021) → $236K (2025)
Samantha Franklin
CFO
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$112K (2022) → $211K (2025)
Hisham Hamdy
COO
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$174K (2024) → $223K (2025)
Megan Blado Cooper
CAO
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$215K (2025)
Stephanie Frances Cole
Vice President of Strategy & Impact
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$122K (2025)
Cara Peterman
Treasurer
Board Member → Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2020
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Derek Chaves
Member
Board Member → Member, 2024
On filings since 2020
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Madeline Haydon
Member
Board Member → Member, 2024
On filings since 2022
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ben Chao
Member
Board Member → Member, 2024
On filings since 2023
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Cara Figgins
Chair-Elect
Board Member → Chair-Elect, 2024
On filings since 2023
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jason Froggatt
Member
Board Member → Member, 2024
On filings since 2023
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Angela Troy
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Brett Manning
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Corey Limbaugh
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Etienne Patout
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jolene Marshall
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ken Ng
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Krisina Hermann
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Stephen Green
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Wendy Allard
Member
On filings since 2024
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tygann Billow
Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.9 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (42)
- Former: Lincon Kemp (2019–2024) — Member
- Former: Linda Nageotte (2019–2024) — President & CEO
- Former: Megan Bergman (2019–2024) — CAO
- Former: Aaron Czyzewski (2023–2024) — Director of Advocacy & Public Policy
- Former: Lisa Galvin (2023–2024) — Director of Programs Strategy
- Former: Shannon Grady Martsolf (2023–2024) — Director of Marketing & Communications
- Former: Afsaneh Rahimian (2019–2023) — Chair
- Former: Chris Blanton (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Josh Hedrick (2019–2023) — Chair-Elect
- Former: Lara Underhill (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Roy Breiman (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Anna Le Weber (2020–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Kyana Wheeler (2020–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Vivian Dela Rosa (2020–2023) — COO
- Former: Anita Whitfield (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Darrell Vannoy (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: David Wasielewski (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Mike Simmons (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Dawn Hunter (2023) — Board Member
- Former: Maurice Thompson (2023) — Director of Technology
- Former: Lindsey Schwartz (2019–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Czyzewski Aaron (2021–2022) — Director of Advocacy
- Former: Hribernick John (2021–2022) — Director of Finance & Accounti
- Former: Shipman Amythst (2021–2022) — Special Projects
- Former: Martsolf Shannon Grady (2022) — Director of Marketing & Committee
- Former: Thompson Maurice Bruce (2022) — Director of Technology
- Former: Henry Altschuler (2019–2021) — CFO
- Former: Mark Kammerer (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Stuart Holmes (2019–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Ana Whitfield (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Mazen Yacoub (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Martinez Joshua Shane (2021) — Director of Ar
- Former: Amy Derenthal (2019–2020) — CDO
- Former: Lyle Snyder (2019–2020) — Board Member
- Former: Samuel Mayberry (2019–2020) — COO
- Former: Suzanne Daly (2019–2020) — Board Member
- Former: Adam Lemieux (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Bruce Christiansen (2019) — Chair
- Former: Michael Whittman (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Peter Johnson (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Roger Garratt (2019) — Board Member
- Former: Tom Douglas (2019) — Board Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $247K, to Robert Ojeda (President & CEO End 3/3/25). 11 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Food Lifeline
How much does Food Lifeline give each year?
Food Lifeline gave $112.2M across 325 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $111.8M across 329 grants.
What is Food Lifeline's typical grant size?
Food Lifeline's median grant in 2025 was $129,542, and its average grant was $345,111, across 325 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Food Lifeline that year got $287K on average.
Where does Food Lifeline give grants?
Food Lifeline gives mostly in Washington: 98% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Seattle, WA (93 grants), Tacoma, WA (22 grants), Kent, WA (7 grants) and Bellingham, WA (6 grants).
Does Food Lifeline give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 325 grants with a stated purpose on Food Lifeline's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Food" (301 grants), "Community Food Sovereignty Fund" (13 grants) and "WSDA LFPA Plus Sub-Award Pass Through" (3 grants).
Who are Food Lifeline's largest grantees?
Food Lifeline's largest 2025 grantees include Praisealujah ($3,961,162), Thurston County Food Bank ($3,380,445) and Ntemc ($3,099,191), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 9% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Food Lifeline?
Food Lifeline reported $30.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $156.5M.
What does Food Lifeline fund?
Food Lifeline’s mission is to feed people experiencing hunger today while working to end hunger for tomorrow. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Food Lifeline?
Food Lifeline has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check foodlifeline.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Food Lifeline's EIN?
Food Lifeline's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 91-1090450. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 9, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS January 31, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 7, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 24, 2024)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Food Lifeline's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Food Lifeline funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/food-lifeline-morg_23d31bf8cf77487284334557bb1d66ee
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_911090450_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Food Lifeline funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/food-lifeline-morg_23d31bf8cf77487284334557bb1d66ee},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Food Lifeline's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Food Lifeline down — hundreds of funders to go?