Meals4Kids Boxes
The Food Bank’s Meals4Kids box fills any gaps in food availability for school-age children by providing families with one week’s worth of non-perishable staples. The boxes contain items like cereal, soup, snack bars and tuna with crackers. They also include important information about programs and services such SNAP/WIC, housing and childcare assistance, Earned Income Tax Credits, LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program), local furniture and clothing banks, and federal summer food service programs. Meals4Kids boxes are funded by generous grants from our supporters.
To Go Bags
Unhoused people often don’t seek out the food provided at our member agencies because they don’t have a way to refrigerate, store or cook the shelf-stable or fresh foods we provide and it can be difficult to carry the food received from agencies. To address these challenges, the Food Bank created To-Go Bags. Packed in draw-string backpacks, these To-Go Bags contain nutrient-dense food that is easy to open without a can opener and doesn’t require refrigeration or cooking. The bags contain things like canned pastas, shelf-stable milk, jerky, cereal bars, tuna kits with crackers, and water.
Spice Boxes
Spices can be expensive and often inaccessible to those on very limited incomes An important way for us to be more responsive to the diverse communities we serve is to offer various spices to food pantry guests so they can create meals with familiar flavor profiles. Spice Boxes contain an assortment of 12 spices:
- Garlic
- Black Pepper
- Oregano
- Red Pepper
- Cumin
- Onion
- Paprika
- Cinnamon
- Turmeric
- Chili Powder
- Cilantro
- Mustard
Retail Rescue
Through our Retail Rescue program, the Food Bank works with local and national retailers to connect them with our member agencies and turn food that would otherwise be considered “food waste” into food donations made directly to the agencies. With Retail Rescue, retailers are no longer paying for food to be disposed of, while agencies right in their communities get food donations that they immediately give to their guests.
What kinds of products are donated?
Thousands of pounds of unsold but good food is thrown away by the food industry, often because there wasn’t enough demand for particular items, or because while the product was still good, it was being passed over by customers (think dented cans, meats that are close to code date or oddly-shaped fruits and vegetables.) Through the program, stores donate foods like:
- Frozen meat
- Dairy
- Produce (fruits, vegetables)
- Baked goods (breads, bagels, muffins, etc.)
- “Salvage” (non—perishable food in unsaleable containers that nonetheless are perfectly fine, for example, dented cans)
Thank you to Our Participating Retailers!
- Aldi
- BJ’s Marketplace and Wholesale Club
- Brigido’s Marketplace
- Cumberland Farms
- Eastside Marketplace
- PriceRite
- Save-A-Lot
- Shaw’s
- Stop & Shop
- Target
- Trader Joe’s
- Walmart