Key Takeaways
- SeaShare has delivered more than 580,800 pounds of seafood to families across the United States in 2026, according to its May newsletter.
- Protein makes up only about 2 percent of food bank donations, says SeaShare's executive director, Hannah Lindoff.
- SeaShare reported $7,929,825 in contributions for 2024, a 33% rise from $5,980,167 in 2023.
SeaShare, a nonprofit that moves seafood from fishers and processors to food banks, has delivered more than 580,800 pounds of seafood to families across the United States in 2026 so far, according to its May 2026 newsletter. Its executive director says protein is scarce in food bank donations.
How SeaShare Gets Seafood to Food Banks
Food Tank reports that SeaShare works with fishers and food banks to deliver millions of seafood servings to communities facing hunger. Since its founding 31 years ago, the group has delivered more than 270 million seafood servings. It grew out of the pollock industry in Alaska, where fishers chose to donate bycatch, which refers to fish that cannot be legally sold, rather than let it go to waste.
Bycatch makes up just 8 percent of SeaShare's total donations today. Relationship building and tax incentives have since encouraged regular donations of first-run, marketable seafood from the fishing and processing industry. The organization also works to match culturally relevant foods with the communities that will use them, which Food Tank illustrates with surimi flake sent to a Korean community services center in northern Washington.
The May 2026 newsletter shows the same supply chain at work this year. Halibut collars processed on the Homer Spit are going to the Homer Community Food Pantry and Anchor Point Food Bank. The Homer Food Bank noted that demand for food is up 22% over this time last year, and the newsletter says the halibut collars will give small processors a market for an ancillary product.
Why Protein Is Hard for Food Banks to Get
Hannah Lindoff, SeaShare's executive director, told Food Tank that "seafood is one of the more expensive forms of protein." She also said that "protein makes up only about 2 percent of donations to food banks and is in huge demand." Her two points frame the supply problem: the protein food banks need is both scarce and costly to buy.
Oddisea SuperFrozen, a U.S. importer and distributor of seafood and a SeaShare partner, donated about 38,000 seafood servings in 2025. Nicole Condon, the company's director of brand and social impact, said that "our product was usually fully distributed within days of pickup." SeaShare identifies food bank partners for the business and arranges direct pickups from its warehouse, and the product then moves through each food bank's distribution network.
What SeaShare's 2024 Filing Shows About Its Growth
SeaShare reported $7,929,825 in contributions for the year ending December 2024, according to its Form 990 filing. That is 33% more than the $5,980,167 it reported for 2023. Its 2022 contributions were $3,012,283, so the 2024 figure is about 2.6 times the 2022 level. Total revenue for 2024 was $7,930,203 and expenses were $8,037,590, according to ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer.
Contributions nearly equaled total revenue in 2024, which means donations, not other income, paid for almost all of the group's work that year. The newsletter reports a year-to-date delivery count, not a full-year total, so the 2026 volume will not be measurable from a filing until the next Form 990 is published. Read together, the sources describe a small network of fishers, processors, an importer and food banks, each handling a different link in the supply chain.
People Also Ask
How much seafood has SeaShare delivered in 2026?
SeaShare has delivered more than 580,800 pounds of seafood in 2026 so far, according to its May 2026 newsletter. The newsletter says each pound represents a meal.
Why is protein hard for food banks to get?
SeaShare's executive director, Hannah Lindoff, told Food Tank that protein makes up only about 2 percent of food bank donations. She said seafood is one of the more expensive forms of protein.
What is bycatch, and how does SeaShare use it?
Bycatch is fish that cannot be legally sold. SeaShare began by accepting bycatch from the Alaska pollock industry, and bycatch makes up just 8 percent of its total donations today, according to Food Tank.
Sources: Food Tank, SeaShare's May 2026 newsletter.