Food Security
Fresh Start Pantry Network
84 client-choice pantries and mobile markets that put fresh produce, not surplus cans, on the table — open evenings and weekends when working families can actually get there.
Serving 12 states since 2009
Poverty is solvable. We fund what works.
RobinHood moves resources to the neighborhoods that need them most — groceries this week, a lease next month, a career that lasts a decade. We measure every dollar by the families it lifts.
Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit
92¢ of every dollar to programs
Independently audited annually
4.2M
Meals distributed since 2009
8,412
Families placed in stable housing
19,340
Adults trained and hired
146
Community partners nationwide
92¢
of every dollar reaches our programs
Who we are
A national nonprofit built around one question: did it actually work?
RobinHood was founded in Denver in 2009 by three caseworkers who were tired of watching families cycle through emergency services without ever reaching stable ground. We started with a single food pantry on Colfax Avenue. Today we run six program lines across 12 states and fund 146 local partner organizations doing the work block by block.
We are not a grant-making foundation that mails checks and hopes. Our program officers sit in the neighborhoods we serve, our outcomes are tracked for 24 months after a family exits a program, and results we cannot verify are results we do not publish.
- Evidence first. Every program is evaluated against a control group before it scales.
- Local leadership. 78% of our partner organizations are led by people from the communities they serve.
- Radical transparency. Audited financials, Form 990 and program data published every year.
What we do
Six programs, one path out of poverty
Families rarely arrive with a single problem. Our programs are designed to hand off to one another, so a food-pantry visit can become a housing plan, and a housing plan can become a career.
Housing
Doorway Home Initiative
Rapid rehousing, deposit assistance and eviction defense, paired with 12 months of case management so a family never lands back where they started.
Workforce
Career Launch
Free credentials in healthcare, logistics, IT support and the skilled trades, with childcare stipends, transit passes and an employer partner waiting at the end.
Fiscal year 2025
The year in numbers
Independently audited results from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
612,480
Meals distributed
1,284
Households rehoused
3,106
Adults completed training
87%
Still housed after 24 months
A story from the field
“I stopped choosing between rent and groceries.”
When the plant in Pueblo cut Marisol Rivera’s hours, the math stopped working. She was $1,900 behind on rent with two kids in middle school and a car that needed a transmission she could not finance.
A Fresh Start pantry visit turned into a meeting with a RobinHood case manager. Emergency assistance cleared the arrears before an eviction filing. Nine months later, Marisol finished a pharmacy technician certificate through Career Launch and started at a regional hospital system at $24.50 an hour with benefits.
Her family has been in the same apartment for three years. Her oldest starts college in the fall.
More stories from our programsGet involved
Three ways to move the needle this month
Give monthly
Recurring gifts are the budget our program directors can actually plan against. $50 a month keeps a child in after-school tutoring all year.
Volunteer
Pantry shifts, tax preparation, mock interviews and mentoring — 14,600 neighbors gave time last year. Most shifts are three hours.
Partner with us
Employers, foundations and civic groups fund cohorts, host job fairs and open hiring pipelines to our graduates.
Trusted by
Cascade Health
Front Range Bank
Meridian Foods
Halstead Trust
Union Logistics
Bright Civic Fund
Newsroom
Latest from RobinHood
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Career Launch expands to Cleveland and San Antonio
Two new workforce hubs will train 900 adults a year in healthcare and advanced logistics, backed by a $6.2M multi-year commitment from the Halstead Trust.
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FY2025 audited financials and Form 990 published
Program spending rose to 92% of total expenses. Our full audit, 990 and program outcome tables are available on the impact page.
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Eviction defense pilot cut filings by 41% in Adams County
An 18-month randomized study with the University of Colorado found that early legal aid plus arrears assistance kept four in five families housed.
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Mobile markets reach 22 rural counties
Refrigerated trucks now serve communities where the nearest grocery store is more than 20 miles away.
Your gift, working by Friday.
Donations to RobinHood move into program budgets within one week. Give once, or join 6,900 monthly donors who make the long work possible.