FOOD BANKING 101

There are many misconceptions about what the food bank actually is. Some think it is merely another pantry serving the public, similar to a soup kitchen or shelter where individuals go to seek help.The fact is we are not a pantry or soup kitchen or shelter. We are in fact the charity that PROVIDES the food to the pantires, soup kitchens, and shelters. We collect donated product and store it in our 35,000 square foot facility. Most “pantries” do not have the space to store a truckload of potatoes, cereal, eggs, etc.

As an America’s Second Harvest affiliate (the largest hunger relief organizations in the nation), we receive offers for truck loads of donated product. We receive the product, unload, inventory, place on availability lists to our member charities in the eleven counties we service, and distribute the product according to the need and desire from each member charity.

With a freezer capacity of 5,000 square feet (able to hold 11 truckloads) and a refrigerated capacity of 2,000 square feet (able to hold 4 truckloads), we are able to accept larger donations than your local church pantry may be able to accommodate. Most local pantries have only a home-sized freezer and refrigerator. Without the food bank, these donations would most likely be turned down, thus giving the product to another region of the state.

Our ability to accept frozen and refrigerated products allows us to offer a better variety of nutricious foods to the pantries and soup kitchens in our service area.