Frequently Asked Questions

Determine the timeframe in which you’d like to hold your food drive. Then register your food drive by either calling the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank at 717.564.1700, ext. 3198 or by registering your food drive online.

The Food Bank can provide you with posters and flyers. You may also want to consider using social media outlets, community calendar listings, and if it’s an internal food drive, send an email to the entire staff to promote your food drive.

We have both barrels and boxes for food collection.

This depends on the size of your audience and the timeframe of your drive. However, it is rare that more than two barrels are needed during a food drive. Each barrel can hold up to 250 pounds of food, depending on what type of food is donated. Should your barrels fill up while your food drive is taking place, the Food Bank can always come and replace your full barrel with an empty one.

You may pick up your requested barrels or make arrangements with the Food Bank to have them dropped off. Because the Food Bank covers such a large territory, please keep in mind some deliveries may not be possible due to the distance.

Yes, we would be more than happy to provide a speaker to emphasize the importance of community support and how your food drive will assist us in our mission. We can also provide you with brochures and other information to further educate your group.

It isn’t necessary to inform us of your food drive, but we do have resources to share with you that can enable you for a successful food drive. Besides, if we know you are having a food drive, we can properly thank you for your donations. Feel free to register your food drive online.

Yes. We will send you a letter stating the weight of the food your group collected. Please be sure we have your name and address for this purpose.

Items rich in protein are essential to providing adequate nutrition. Canned meats, meals in a can – beef stew, chili, beans, pastas, peanut butter, and canned vegetables and fruits. Also, try to avoid products packaged in glass containers.

If someone feels compelled to make a monetary gift, then by all means, please accept their donation. However, we would recommend not handling cash if you can avoid it. Checks are best in this situation. All checks should be made out to Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Upon receipt of the check, an acknowledgement letter will be issued to the donor.

The Central PA Food Bank Harrisburg Food Bank location serves Adams County,  Bedford County,  Blair County,  Centre County,  Clearfield County,  Cumberland County,  Dauphin County,  Franklin County,  Fulton County,  Huntingdon County,  Juniata County,  Lancaster County,  Lebanon County,  Mifflin County,  Northumberland County,  Perry County,  Snyder County and York County. 

The Central PA Food Bank Williamsport Food Bank location serves Bradford County, Clinton County, Columbia County, Lycoming County, Montour County, Northumberland County, Potter County, Sullivan County, Tioga County and Union County.