Food Banks, Pantries and Soup Kitchens: How to Find Food in Times of Need

The loss of a job, home or the main breadwinner in a family can all lead to a sudden lack of money for essentials, such as food. Extremely valuable resources for those times of need are soup kitchens, food banks and pantries. They are operated by religious and secular non-profit organizations and local government agencies, and can be found in many smaller towns and most medium size and larger cities. With some you have to prove a need, while others ask no questions; some charge a flat fee for a set amount of food and others are entirely free. Many are open every day, year round.

If you belong to a church, synagogue or mosque you probably already know what resources are available to you as a member.

Check your local phone directory under Food Banks and Social Service Organizations.

Perform an internet search using the keywords of the title of this article along with your town, city, county and state names.

Ask friends, family and neighbors if they know of any local resources.

Also make sure to check the following sites:

Feeding America

Angel Food Ministries

Soup Kitchen Directory

Hunger Relief Resources

Further Reading and Resources:

Food Rescue

Society of St. Andrew