Food Bank of Alaska was founded in 1979 by Anchorage church volunteers who started collecting surplus food that would otherwise be wasted; in its first full year it distributed about 47,000 pounds to 22 partners. Today it distributes food statewide across one of the most challenging logistics environments in the country, where many of the communities it serves are reachable only by plane, barge, or winter ice road. Based in Anchorage, it is led by CEO Cara Durr and is a Feeding America member.
Food Bank of Alaska sources food at scale and distributes it statewide through partner agencies and its own programs, contending with logistics unlike anywhere else in the country. Much of Alaska is off the road system, so the food bank ships to remote villages by plane and barge, and food costs in those communities are extraordinarily high. It also leads statewide anti-hunger advocacy and works closely with Alaska Native communities.
Cara Durr became CEO in 2024, having joined Food Bank of Alaska in 2012 as Alaska Food Coalition manager and later serving as chief of advocacy and public policy, where she led statewide initiatives and secured millions in funding for the anti-hunger network. Her policy background fits an organization for which advocacy is as central as distribution.
Food Bank of Alaska serves the whole state, from the Anchorage and Fairbanks population centers to remote villages across the Bush. The 2025 collision of a typhoon and a federal shutdown showed how exposed Alaska's food supply is, and the food bank's reach into off-road communities, including via the Kuskokwim ice road in winter, is often the only link some villages have to emergency food.
Yes. Food Bank of Alaska is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member, operating since 1979. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals, and shipping logistics make cash gifts especially valuable.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through foodbankofalaska.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because the food bank must pay to ship food across enormous distances.
Food Bank of Alaska is the statewide hub for hunger relief, supplying pantries and programs across the state. It works alongside the Salvation Army and other groups on the broader safety net. For anyone in Alaska, it is the lead food bank to support.
Food shipped to communities on and off the road system.
Statewide policy work to strengthen the safety net.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Distribution to remote villages across the Bush.
Sources: Food Bank of Alaska website (foodbankofalaska.org), Wikipedia, and reporting on the organization’s founding and the appointment of Cara Durr. We are not affiliated with Food Bank of Alaska and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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