Food Pantry vs. Food Bank: What’s the Difference?

What a food bank does

Food banks are nonprofits that store and send out large amounts of food. Feeding Tampa Bay compares them to giant storage vaults or the bulk aisles of a warehouse store.

Most of the food is donated by grocery stores, government programs, farms and food companies. Volunteers sort it before it goes out on trucks.

What a food pantry does

Food pantries are where people actually get food. They hand out groceries that often come from a larger food bank.

Many pantries are run by volunteers and are found in schools, community centers and places of worship.

Mobile pantries

Some food banks also run mobile pantries. A truck brings boxes of groceries to an area where food is hard to get, and people pick them up for free. Mobile pantries often run on set days each month, so check the schedule on each listing.

Which one do I go to?

Most people should go to a food pantry or a mobile pantry. Use the search on our home page to find ones near you and see if they are open today.