To continue to meet the demand for food assistance, we source food in a variety of ways, which means there are lots of ways you can help.
If you are interested in hosting a traditional food drive, collection boxes and posters may be picked up; and collected food items may be dropped off in the foyer of the Food Bank, 200 Niantic Avenue, Providence, RI 02907, M-F between the hours of 8am-5pm (no appointment necessary).
Please Note: Our transportation fleet is reserved for food deliveries to our member agencies, so they don’t have the capacity to make food drive pickups, unless the donation is over 1,500 lbs (35 boxes). Please plan to drop-off your donation at our location, or at one of our agencies. If you need assistance unloading your donation, please arrive by 4pm to ensure our warehouse staff is available to assist.
The 11 x 17 Food Drive poster can also be downloaded here.
We believe that all pantry guests should be served with dignity and respect and we distribute only food that we would serve to our own families. We do not accept items that are open, out of date or otherwise damaged or unusable. We cannot accept glass packaging, perishable or prepared foods.
Soups & stews: Any variety, canned or boxed | Pasta, Macaroni & Cheese |
Breakfast Cereals: Any variety | Rice: jasmine, yellow, basmati, white and brown |
Canned fish and meat: tuna, chicken, sardines, salmon | Canned fruit: pineapple, mango, peaches, pears, mandarin oranges, cocktail |
Canned vegetables: corn, green beans and peas, spinach, okra | Tomato products: diced and crushed, paste |
Canned or dried beans and lentils: black, red kidney, lentils, black eyed peas, pinto, fava | Nut & seed butters: peanut, sunflower, soy nut, almond, cashew |
Sauces, spices and condiments: tomato, sofrito, fish, soy, coconut milk, extra virgin olive oil, rice vinegar, crushed red pepper, paprika, adobo, cinnamon, ginger |
A dollar donated to the Food Bank goes further than one spent at the grocery store towards food donations. The most effective way to support the Food Bank is to donate funds on our website so we can purchase food at cost from distributors and pay the costs of transporting and processing donated food. Supporting us with a donation also enables us to purchase more fresh, local produce and culturally responsive foods like avocados, limes, bok choy and taro root. By donating through our website, you can ensure that we have the resources to acquire and purchase the food that best serves our network of member agencies from Westerly to Woonsocket.
Get your friends and colleagues involved with your effort to help feed Rhode Islanders facing hunger. You can create your own personalized fundraising campaign with many fun options, such as creating a team to engage others in raising funds towards a common goal. You can even connect your movement tracker or your game play streaming account to make a unique and engaging experience for your donors.
Check out our fundraising tool and get started.