We rely on the generosity from our community to serve families in need year-round. Whether you’re donating money or food, each gift helps us fight hunger a little more.
Consider a monetary donation
Monetary donations help make a greater impact. When you donate money instead of food, the Food Bank can stretch your donation to nourish even more families thanks to our bulk purchasing power and partnerships with major retailers, manufacturers and farmers. While you can buy a few food items with $10 at the store, we can turn a $10 gift into 40 meals.
A monetary gift also gives us the freedom to buy a variety of perishable food that’s already packed and palletized, and ready to leave our doors immediately.
Donate Non-Perishable Foods
While fresh foods are an important part of the food we provide, non-perishables are also needed and easy for you to donate. We can make the most of your non-perishable food donation when you consider three things: nutrition, usefulness, and quality vs. quantity.
Nutrition
We aim to provide your neighbors with the healthiest food possible. Here is an expanded list of healthy non-perishable foods you can donate.
Canned fish, such as salmon, tuna and sardines
Canned meats, such as chicken and turkey
Whole grains, such as quinoa and spelt
Rice (brown, wild)
Steel-cut or rolled oats
Whole grain dry cereals with at least 5 grams fiber/serving
Whole grain pastas, such as whole wheat, brown rice flour or quinoa
Fruits in natural juice with no sugar added
Canned vegetables, low salt or no added salt
Canned fruit packed in water versus syrup
Canned or boxed low-sodium soups and stews
Dried or canned legumes, such as peas, lentils, peanuts and beans
Pureed foods, such as sweet potato, pumpkin and applesauce
Low-fat dry or shelf-stable milk
Nut butters, including peanut, almond, walnut
Other great things to donate that can stretch our clients' food budget:
Dried herbs and spices and no-salt spice blends
Popcorn kernels
Dried fruits (preferably no added sugar), such as prunes, mangoes, apricots and raisins
Granola, muesli
Shelf-stable milk alternatives such as soy, almond, rice
Seeds, such as sesame, sunflower or pumpkin
Healthy oils, such as olive and grape seed
Green, white and herbal tea
Plain, unsalted nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios and pecans
Natural sweeteners, such as honey
100 percent fruit juice
Usefulness
While we encourage you to give what you can, it’s most beneficial for us to provide our clients with food they can use. Consider donating food with pop-top lids for our clients who may have difficulty opening cans with a can opener.
Many of our clients are children. You can support their healthy food habits by donating food in kid-friendly sizes with easy-to-open packaging and no-cook food items.
There are items we cannot distribute such as alcohol of any kind, home-canned goods, or food where the ingredients are not available in English. Remember, if that canned item has been sitting in the back of your pantry for an unknown amount of time, dented, or damaged in any way, it’s probably best to leave that donation at home, or throw it out.
Quality vs. Quantity
We encourage you to give the best food possible, but also realize you have a budget. If you can afford to donate organic items, great. If not, that’s OK, too. Every donation makes a difference. What's most important is that we all come together to help our neighbors.
