Over the past five years, Channel Fish Processing has deepened its understanding of hunger in the community. Our journey started small and close to home, with the company’s vision of creating a bright and sustainable future for our family of employees in mind.
Five years ago, Channel Fish Processing, like everyone else worldwide, was facing a global pandemic and the many disturbances and worries it created. As a food manufacturer and essential business, CFP stayed open during the pandemic. However, shifts were varied, staffing was limited and changing to allow for social distancing, and we did not have the bandwidth to offer consistent working hours to our entire production team. “It was a uniquely challenging time. In addition to the expected worries a business owner would have after just opening a new facility in 2018 I started to become concerned about our employees,” shared Tom Zaffiro, CEO of Channel Fish Processing. “It has always been the goal of our family business to provide paths to success for our employees. The pandemic changed the opportunities we were able to provide to our workers, and I felt the company needed to help in anyway we could. We started by giving fish to our employees once per week, with any leftover fish going to food banks in the local communities surrounding our facility where our workers live. Then we realized how many people are affected by hunger and knew there was more work to do.”
The Issue and Its Impact
According to Feeding America, the nationwide network of food banks and pantries, 47 million people face hunger in the United States, including nearly 14 million children. Channel Fish Processing partners with SeaShare to fight hunger. SeaShare is a national non-profit organization that works closely with the seafood industry to coordinate seafood donations to food banks and feeding programs throughout the country. In 2025, SeaShare distributed 1.7 million pounds of seafood to 20 states. SeaShare’s mission is to raise the nutritional value of food available at food banks.
Since our understanding of the issue of hunger and the impact of healthy seafood offerings at food banks and pantries has grown, Channel Fish Processing’s contributions to SeaShare have increased every year. CEO Tom Zaffiro believes so strongly in the mission of SeaShare that he became a member of SeaShare’s Board of Directors. By telling our story, we are hopeful that you will take a few minutes to understand how easy it is to donate and how to start making a difference for those facing hunger.
Join us in our commitment to bringing more nutritious seafood options to families facing hunger. SeaShare is looking for all types of seafood products enjoyed by Americans, everything from prepackaged product processed for retail distribution or frozen fish fillets sold by the case. If you have something to offer for donation, please share the details via email to Anna@SeaShare.org or Hannah@SeaShare.org.
