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Get free food near you

Updated October 21, 2025 • 13 min read • 2,608 words
Focus Immediate Financial Assistance

Free food distribution programs that may be near you, in your community.

Find where free food is available, including from programs near you near you. There are many places that provide groceries, a free box of produce or canned food as well as other items. All local communities have charitable pantries, churches, and other distribution centers that help feed struggling low income families and really anyone in need. Find details on how and where to get free food in your area, including from a pantry, local giveaway or food bank.

  • list of free food distribution programs, including for local communities as well as state distribution centers, are all listed below. Even if a location is not near where you may live, they may still offer referrals or even help people sign up for a free, low cost delivery service for a meal.

The main categories of programs and places that give free food in local communities , with links to more resources, include the following.

Links to national programs that give out free food

List of city, county and state food assistance programs

Also if you need additional help in finding a free food distribution location near you, please e-mail us. Be sure to include your "general" location (state/county/city) . As there are often other ways to get free food in a local area but at minimum your county is needed. The email .

Links to national programs that give out free food

Many national organizations operate local programs that give out free food, applications to benefits, groceries and really try to help anyone that is facing hunger. As some charities or government programs focus on specific needs (but have a local presence), and those those resources are below. In addition to free food being given out now, long term support is often provided. Food pantries as well as human services offices will often help process SNAP food stamp or WIC applications as well as other USDA assistance programs. Families with a very low or no income can also get emergency food stamp cards . In some cases, food can be delivered to a family or person that can’t make it to a local pantry or distribution center. Senior citizens, the sick and the disabled may be able to apply for local Meals on Wheels services near them . Struggling people that are homebound with pets can also get help as well. If a senior or homebound person either can't afford to buy, or is unable to make it to a store, free pet food can be given as part of Meals on Wheels. Free hot meals are often provided by some charity organizations as well as a box of groceries, including during the holidays. The programs near you will help the homeless, unemployed, and people with no money. Get a free meal near you from a soup kitchen . Salvation Army has free food giveaways in most local communities. Everything from a pantry to a soup kitchen can be used by the homeless or low income. Find a food bank at a Salvation Army . Emergency food is given as well. People facing a crisis or unexpected hardship can get help today. A number of charities and churches are open daily and give out free food, groceries or meals, and find how to get emergency food near you . Infant and free baby formula is provided too from a food bank near you. This is provided for parents with newborns that have no other resources available to them. A focus of the churches as well as charities that run them is to help single parents, and that can be given baby and infant formula . Free pet food is for the low-income as well. Whether right or wrong, the fact is many people treat their dogs or cats as members of the family, with often seniors or the disabled needing their pets. There are local programs that may be near you that can help people feed their animals(s) and find free pet food programs . Several national or local restaurants service free food. Locations , whether casual or fast food, provide free meals, coupons, and items to their customers. The sign up process is usually quick and easy, and the savings can add up quickly. There are thousands of options out there, and find how to get free food from restaurants . Free food coupons are available as well. They will help people pay for restaurant style food or groceries (or get free food using a coupon) at a store or local pantry. As many pantries also have voucher or coupon type programs. Get details on the free food coupons with no purchase needed . “Pop-up” free food distribution also takes place. Various locations, ranging from a restaurant or grocery store with surplus food top local community centers (which all these can be hard to track) give away food on almost an instant/real time basis. Find details on free pop up and mobile food alerts . Referrals to free food programs are offered from Feeding America. It is a national network of organizations that give out free food, with many pantries giving food out daily - even today. There are thousands of distribution centers with one more than likely near you. The centers provide fresh and canned food locally, and find details here. https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank .

List of city, county and state food assistance programs

Find a local food pantry that may be in your area, near you, listed below , by state and/or county . Some are open 7 days a week, others address emergency situations, and some are open very limited hours. It is recommended to call in advance. Or do you want to ask a question or read what other people are saying about the options out there? We have a discussion forum about free food where you can read real experiences and community replies from across the country. Everyone from the working poor to families facing a one time hardship can get assistance from an organization that will often be right near them. In addition to a free box of food (or more) other local programs operate soup kitchens, so there may be a free groceries given out along with a hot meal served (hot breakfast, dinner, or lunch) served nearby too.

Baldwin County

Jefferson County

Lee and Russell County

Madison County

Marshall County

Mobile County

Montgomery County

.

Morgan County

Shelby and Talladega County

Tuscaloosa County

Arizona

Cochise County

Coconino County

Maricopa County

and Phoenix

Mohave County

Pima County

Pinal County

Yavapai County

Arkansas

Benton County

Craighead County

Faulkner County

Garland County

Jefferson County

Pulaski County

Saline County

.

Sebastian County

Washington County

White County

California

Alameda County

Butte County

Contra Costa County

Fresno County

Humboldt County

Imperial County

Kern County

Los Angeles County

Marin County

Merced County

Napa County

Nevada County

Orange County

Placer County

Riverside County

Sacramento County

San Bernardino County

San Diego County

San Francisco County

San Joaquin County

San Luis Obispo County

San Mateo County

Santa Barbara County

Santa Clara County

and San Jose CA places for free food

Santa Cruz County

Shasta and Tehama County

Solano County

Sonoma County

Stanislaus County

Tulare County

Ventura County

Yolo County

Colorado

Adams County

Arapahoe County

Boulder County

Denver County

Douglas County

El Paso County

Jefferson County

Larimer County

Mesa County

Pueblo County

Weld County

Connecticut

Fairfield County

Hartford County

Litchfield County

New Haven County

New London County

Delaware

Wilmington and New Castle County

Sussex County

District of Columbia Low income families will get free food throughout DC, and look here for details on District of Columbia

Alachua County

Bay County

Brevard County

Broward County

Charlotte County

Citrus County

Clay County

Collier County

Duval County

and city of Jacksonville food distribution centers

Escambia County

Hernando County

Hillsborough County

Lake County

Lee County

Leon County

Manatee County

Marion County

Martin County

Miami-Dade County

Nassau County

Orange County

Osceola County

Palm Beach County

Pasco County

Pinellas County

Polk County

.

Sarasota County

Seminole County

St. Johns County St. Lucie County

Volusia County

Georgia

Bartow County

Bibb County

Carrol County

Carroll and Paulding County

Chatham County

Cherokee County

Clarke County

Clayton County

Cobb County

Columbia County

DeKalb County

Douglas County

Fayette and Coweta County

Forsyth County

Fulton County

and Atlanta

Glynn County

Gwinnett County

Hall County

Henry County

Houston County

Muscogee County

Newton and Walton County

Richmond County

Rockdale County

Hawaii

Hawaii County

Honolulu County

Idaho

Ada County

Bonneville County

Canyon County

Kootenai County

Twin Falls County

Illinois

Champaign County

Chicago and Cook County

DeKalb County

DuPage County

Franklin County

Kankakee County

Lake County

Macon County

Madison County

McHenry County

McLean County

Rock Island County

Sangamon County

Tazewell County

Vermilion and Iroquois County

Will County

Winnebago County

Indiana

Allen County

Clark County

Delaware County

Elkhart County

Gibson and Posey County

Hamilton County

Hendricks County

Kosciusko County

Lake County

Marion County

as well as Indianapolis

Monroe County

Porter County

St. Joseph County

Tippecanoe County

Vanderburgh County

Vigo County

Wayne County

Iowa

Linn County

Polk County

Scott County

Kansas

Butler County

Douglas County

Johnson County

Sedgwick County

Shawnee County

Wyandotte County

Kentucky

Boone and Grant County

Bullitt, Nelson, and Spencer County

Daviess County

Jefferson County

Kenton County

Fayette County

Oldham and Shelby County

Warren County

Louisiana

Baton Rogue Parish

Bossier Parish

Caddo Parish

Calcasieu Parish

Jackson, Lincoln, and Union Parish

Lafayette Parish

Ouachita Parish

New Orleans Parish

Rapides Parish

St. Tammany Maine Find charities and distribution centers in the state, and look here for Maine .

Anne Arunde County

Baltimore city and county

Frederick County

Harford County

Howard County

Montgomery County

Prince George County

Washington County

Massachusetts

Barnstable County

Berkshire County

Bristol County

Essex County

Hampden County

Middlesex County

Norfolk County

Plymouth County

Suffolk County

, Boston, and region

Worcester County

Michigan

Allegan and Van Buren County

Berrien County

Calhoun County

Clinton and Ionia County

Eaton County

Genesee County

Ingham County

Jackson County

Kalamazoo County

Kent County

Livingston County

Macomb County

Monroe County and Lenawee County

Muskegon County

Oakland County

Ottawa County

Saginaw County

St. Joseph County

Washtenaw County

Wayne County

and free food programs in Detroit

Anoka County

Dakota County

Hennepin County

including Minneapolis

Olmsted County

Ramsey County

St. Louis County

Stearns County

Washington County

Mississippi

Desoto County

Harrison County

Hinds County

Jackson and George County

Lee County

Rankin and Madison County

Washington and Bolivar County

Missouri

Boone County

Cass County

Clay County

Franklin County

Greene County

Jasper County

Jefferson County

Kansas City and Jackson County

. St. Charles County St. Louis Montana There are places for free food and groceries in all the local communities, and find details on Montana .

Buffalo County

Douglas and Sarpy County

Lancaster County

Nevada

Clark County

Washoe County

New Hampshire

Hillsborough County

Rockingham County

Strafford County

New Jersey

Atlantic County

Bergen County

Burlington County

Camden County

Essex County

Gloucester County

Hudson County

Hunterdon County

Mercer County

Middlesex County

Monmouth County

Morris County

Ocean County

Passaic County

Somerset County

Union County

New Mexico

Bernalillo County

Curry County

Dona Ana County

Sandoval County

San Juan County

Santa Fe County

New York

Albany County

Broome, Chenango, and Tioga County

Cayuga County

Chemung County

Cortland County

Dutchess County

Erie County

Monroe County

.

Nassau County

Niagara County

New York City

Bronx Brooklyn . Manhattan Queens

Staten Island

Oneida County

Onondaga County

Orange County New York

Oswego County

Rensselaer County

Rockland County

.

Saratoga County

Suffolk County

Tompkins County

Ulster County

Westchester County

North Carolina

Beaufort and Martin County

Buncombe County

Cabarrus County

Catawba County

Craven and Lenoir County

Cumberland County

Davidson County

Durham County

Gaston, Lincoln, and Cleveland County

Forsyth County

Guiliford County

Henderson County

Hoke County

Iredell County

Johnston County

Mecklenburg County

as well as Charlotte NC

Pitt County

New Hanover County

Onslow County

Robeson County

Wake County

and free food centers in the Raleigh area

Wayne County

North Dakota

Find details on free food programs for all parts of

North Dakota

Ohio

Allen County

Ashtabula County

Belmont County

Butler County

Clark County

Clermont County

Cuyahoga County

Delaware County

Erie County

Fairfield County

Franklin County

and Columbus OH

Hamilton County

as well as Cincinnati area food assistance programs

Lake County

Lorain County

.

Lucas County

Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana County

Marion and Morrow County

Medina County

Montgomery County

Muskingum County

Ottawa County

Portage and Geauga County

Stark County

Trumbull County and Warren County

Summit County

Warren County

Wayne County

Wood County

Oklahoma Canadian, Caddo and Grandy County

Carter and Garvin County

Cleveland County

Comanche County

Oklahoma City and County

Payne County

Pottawatomie County

Rogers and Wagoner County

Tulsa County

Oregon

Clackamas County

Deschutes County

Jackson County

Lane County

Linn County

Marion County

Multnomah County

Washington County

Yamhill County

Pennsylvania

Allegheny County

and Pittsburgh

Beaver County

Berks County

Bucks County

Butler County

Cambria County

Chester County

Crawford County

Cumberland County

Dauphin County

Delaware County

Erie County

Fayette County

Indiana County

Lackawanna County

Lancaster County

Lehigh County

Luzerne County

Lycoming County

Monroe County

Montgomery County

Northampton County

Philadelphia County

Schuylkill County

Westmoreland County

York County

Rhode Island

Kent County

Providence County

South Carolina

Aiken County

Anderson County

Beaufort County

Berkeley County

Charleston County

Darlington County

Dorchester County

Florence County

Georgetown County

Greenville County

Horry County

Lexington County

Orangeburg County

Richland County

Spartanburg County

Sumter County

York County

Tennessee

Blount County

Bradley County

Davidson County

including Nashville food assistance programs

Hamilton County

Knox County

Montgomery County

Rutherford County

Shelby County

and the Memphis area

Sullivan County

Sumner County

Williamson County

Wilson, Trousdale, DeKalb, and Smith County Texas Amarillo as well as Potter and Randall County

Angelina and Nacogdoches County

Bell County

Bexar County

as well as free food in San Antonio

Brazos County

Brazoria County

Cameron County

Collin County

Dallas County

Denton County

Ector County

Ellis County

El Paso County

Fort Bend County

Galveston County

Grayson County

Gregg County

Guadalupe County

Harris County

and Houston TX

Hays County

Hidalgo County

Jefferson County

Lubbock County

McLennan County

Midland County

Montgomery County

Nueces County

Smith County

Tarrant County

and Fort Worth

Taylor County

Travis County

and Austin free food distribution locations

Webb County

Williamson County

Utah

Davis County

Salt Lake County

Utah County

Washington and Iron County

Weber County

Vermont Find details on free food for all of

Albemarle County

Arlington County and Alexandria

Chesapeake

Chesterfield County

City of Norfolk

Fairfax County

Franklin County

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County

Henrico County

as well as Richmond VA

Loudoun County

Prince William County

Rockingham County

Stafford County

Virginia Beach

Washington

Benton County

Clark County

Grays Harbor County

King County

food assistance as well as Seattle

Kitsap County

Pierce County

Snohomish County

Spokane County

Thurston County

Whatcom County

Yakima County

West Virginia

Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan County

Cabell County

Kanawha County

Monongalia County

Wood County

Wisconsin

Brown County

Dane County

Dodge and Jefferson County

LaCrosse County and Vernon County

Marathon County

Milwaukee County

Outagamie County

Racine County

Sheboygan County

Waukesha County

Winnebago County