How much money do I need to open a food pantry for the needy?

Question

Also any links to that obtainig that piece of info will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

you could approach your council and they would give you a place and ?no rent as it was for the area ?http://blog.charitynavigator.org/2008/04...   http://blog.charitynavigator.org/2008/04... hope this helps and good luck

Answer 2

First you must register with the State as a non profit org.  Second, rent a facility for storing foods. Third, a budget for advertising for food donations. Plus you will need heat, electricity and a cleaning crew.  $5000.00 should be a good bit of seed money.  That is why churches are usually where the food pantry is, they already have the start up needs covered.

Answer 3

Sorry, but I do need to correct the mis-information above because it is a matter of law that is totally untrue in the answer above.  You don't get your nonprofit status from the state, you can only get it from IRS.  

   You probably have to register with your secretary of state as a corporation, but you cannot get donations to your food pantry on your own without your 501c3 nonprofit status from IRS. Go to their website, www.irs.gov,  to learn how to apply...you can print out the 1023 application here too.  The filing fee is $750 or less depending on your planned budget.

   If you are in a city that already has a food bank or any food pantries, say through churches or shelters, or red cross, you may not need to open another one.  Donors will typically give to well established nonprofits and may see you starting another one an unecessary duplication.  You can always join an existing organization to become a new program, or location or branch of theirs.  The competition for financial contributions, grants and even in-kind contributions of food is phenomenal today.

   Write a first year and a three year plan.  Include a mission statement, goals and objectives, and what you are going to do. You will be in a position to estimqte how much it will cost, how much will you have to raise, how much can you get donated, how you will market your organization.  Will you be an all-volunteer organization or have staff, and, who will be on your board of directors.  (You have to have a board if you are going to be a nonprofit.)

   I am the director of a nonprofit that provides information, education and other resources to nonprofits.  We operate a library and their are over 340 libraries like us around the country.  To see if there is one near you, go to www.foundationcenter.org, and go to Locationsl.  They have give large libraries, and the rest are listed as Cooperating Collections, which is where you will find one close to you.  I recommend you visit one of their libraries for information on writing a plan, how to start a nonprofit, and how to do a budget to determine how much money you need to open, and how much you will need to sustain it in the future.

Hope this helps!  My best, Teresa

There is no way to estimate the cost without a written plan.

Answer 4

If they'll eat plain pasta about fifty bucks would do the job.