FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

About Us

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank accepts and is grateful for monetary or food donations.  Your donations make a big impact for people in need in our communities.  Online donations can be made by clicking Give Now.  Checks can also be mailed to our office at 3908 Corey Road, Harrisburg, PA 17109.

The Food Bank provides foods to those at risk of hunger through a network of more than 1,000 partner agencies and programs operating throughout our 27-county service area.  This network includes food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency food providers, schools, etc.  The Food Bank also advocates for public policy that provides nutrition assistance and addresses the root causes of food insecurity.

Food is sourced from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, grocers, growers, processors, the food industry and Feeding America, as well as from food drives.  We also source produce through the Mid-Atlantic Regional Cooperative (MARC) and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS).  More information on MARC and PASS are available by downloading the following documents.

MARC Fact Sheet

PASS Fact Sheet

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank opened its doors in 1982.  During our first year of operation, we distributed more than 711,000 pounds of food to a network of 140 agency partners.  Today, we share tens of millions of pounds per year, through more than 1,000 partner agencies and programs.  We provide healthy, delicious food to hundreds of thousands of individuals each month.

Generally, no. If you or someone you know needs emergency food assistance, contact the Food Bank at 717-564-1700 for a pantry referral or click here to access our list of partners.  Emergency food programs are listed with phone numbers.  Contact the program for more information on days and hours of distribution.  Consumers are referred to programs located within the zip code where they live.

Overall, how we work is that food is collected, stored and repackaged at our Healthy Food Hubs in Harrisburg and Williamsport and then distributed to partner agencies that are also 501(c)(3) organizations.  These non-profit community programs then either prepare the food to serve it or distribute food to those in need.  Non-profit partners may include emergency programs such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.  Supplemental food program partners may include youth programs, senior centers or transitional living programs all of whom serve low income individuals who are at risk of hunger.

A food bank solicits, collects, stores, repackages and distributes large quantities of food to direct food service programs.  The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is a food bank and a member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks.

A food pantry provides food directly to those who may not have enough food to eat.  Food pantries are an important source of emergency food for the working poor.  They often provide other critical resources.

Contact us via email or call our Agency Services Department at 717-564-1700 or 570-321-8023 to see if there is a need for a partner agency in your community.

Food safety is a critical component of our operation.  All agency partners must have a minimum of one person (key staff or volunteer working with the food program) who has participated in a food safety curriculum appropriate to the distribution program type, i.e., Meal Service or Food Pantry program.

The Food Bank offers Food Pantry Safety Curriculum on our website under Agencies (located at the top of the page), and coordinates classroom sessions for meal and pantry programs with certified food safety educators.  The Food Bank supports nutrition education in partnership with the Penn State Cooperative Extension services located throughout our service territory.

Our Harrisburg Healthy Food Hub serves the following Pennsylvania counties:  Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry and York.

Our Williamsport Healthy Food Hub serves the following Pennsylvania counties:  Bradford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union.

Need Food Assistance

Call one of our Healthy Food Hubs at 717-564-1700 or 570-321-8023, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. We can help you identify a partner agency that serves your part of town. Or visit our online Find Food page anytime.

Volunteer

Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older.

Donate

The most impactful way the community can help the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is with direct financial donations, or a fun, interactive virtual food drive. The flexibility of financial resources allows us to leverage our vast buying power, generous volunteers, and keen stewardship to acquire, move and distribute millions of pounds of the freshest, and most nutritious food. Give Today!

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank no longer sponsors or promotes local food drives. When appropriate, we refer related inquiries to interested Partner Agencies. The Food Bank no longer picks up or provides barrels for local food drives. However, we will accept wholesome donated food that is dropped off at our Harrisburg or Williamsport Healthy Food Hubs if it follows our guidelines.

Large-scale food donations from the manufacturing, warehouse, agriculture and food services industries are critical to our mission. If you are a business or other organization that has food donations, please contact our Director of Operations, Derick Fritchey at 717.547.6310 to discuss your items and whether or not we are able accept it.

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