Columbus Ohio And Franklin County Free Food Pantries
Pantries, soup kitchens and food banks in Columbus Ohio and Franklin County offer resources. Charities, churches, or the government offer free or low cost food or groceries as well as hot or frozen meals to individuals who need assistance. Below you will find information about the leading food pantries near you as well as locations in the county to call for help. There is also a referral phone number at the bottom of the page.
Food banks, pantries, and distribution centers in the Columbus Ohio region assist thousands of low income families and seniors per year. There are groceries, free personal toiletries or hygiene supplies and other items. Call or stop by to get more information or to apply for help.
The number one goal of many of the food pantries is to ensure all hungry families in the Columbus area get access to canned goods, perishable items and other food for them and their families. Many of the locations can also help people apply for social services, and they will have staff that may be able to advocate on the applicants behalf for any and all types of government assistance programs. So you can learn about federal and state resources such as WIC or SNAP food stamps.
Al-maun Food PantryAddress of this pantry is 168 North Garfield AvenueColumbus, Ohio 43203
Angel Food MinistriesGrove City, Ohio 43123Dial 252-3157 to get the administrative office. This non-profit national organization offers healthy meals at up to 50% off the retail price. Read more on .
How You Can Help
Individual Donations: We strongly encourage individuals to make cash donations, rather than donations of food or other items, to maximize the value of each dollar through bulk purchasing, to minimize the burden on local retailers and grocers, and to minimize the need for person-to-person contact as our warehouses accept deliveries. To make a cash donation, please visit our donation page or donate directly to your local foodbank by navigating to their website.
Corporate Support: If your company is able to offer needed supplies, including shelf-stable food, personal care/personal hygiene/household cleaning items, food service supplies such as “to-go” meal containers, disposable silverware, sturdy bags, or other packaging items like cardboard boxes, please contact Jessica Renwick by email at with information about your offer, including the quantity you have available.
Volunteer Resources: If you are an individual or group of individuals who are at low-risk for serious illness from a COVID-19 infection, and you are able to assist in volunteering in safe, clean settings in foodbank warehouses, please reach out to your local foodbank’s volunteer department. We ask that only individuals free of symptoms, without known exposure to the COVID-19 virus, and without known underlying conditions that would put them at higher risk, respond to this call for volunteer support.
Quick Links
Volunteer In Columbus With Kids
Miracle League of Central Ohio: . Special needs baseball league needs volunteers for many different positions during Saturday games, from buddy , field helpers, announcers, assistant coaches, and more.
Check with your local schools and libraries for volunteer opportunities, as many are in constant need of volunteers. From homework help to classroom assistance, there are plenty of opportunities for helping children with their education.
Homeless Families Foundation: Aims to break the cycle of homelessness by stabilizing the family and educating children. Volunteer opportunities range from working directly with kids via tutoring and mentoring, to class room and grounds cleanup and organizing the pantry and sorting food. There are volunteer opportunities for ages 11 and up. Working directly with the kids requires a minimum 1 hour commitment per week, other opportunities can be one time only.
Recommended Reading: Food Bank Salt Lake City Ut
What Can Not Be Donated
Alcohol
Food shelf life and the dates on donations.
Best by and sell by indicate quality while use by indicates safety.
Best By
Best by dates mark the last day before food quality declines.
Sell By
Sell by is used by manufacturers to ensure turnover of a food product in the store, to ensure product is taken home before quality declines.
Use By
Use by marks the last date recommended for the use of the product. This is often printed on meat, poultry or egg labels.
Best By
Best by dates mark the last day before food quality declines.
Sell By
Sell by is used by manufacturers to ensure turnover of a food product in the store, to ensure product is taken home before quality declines.
Use By
Use by marks the last date recommended for the use of the product. This is often printed on meat, poultry or egg labels.
Columbus Nonprofits For Environment And Conservation
Columbus Recreation and Parks gives our community a chance to improve our physical and mental health, to develop our youth, to focus on our environment, and to make a positive impact on our city.
Sunbury Urban Farm strives to educate and inspire our community as to the importance of agriculture, sustainability, and environmental awareness. They offer summer camps to teach kids about farming and nature and host nature workshops.
Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed s mission is to keep the Olentangy River and its tributaries clean and safe for all to enjoy, through public education, volunteer activities, and coordination with local decision-makers.
Simply Livingconnects people to learning opportunities that promote community sustainability and environmental awareness.
Still not sure what volunteering for environmental conservation in Columbus looks like? Here are some ideas, or you can sign up for more volunteering opportunities on the POINT app!
- Help with invasive species removal and litter clean up at parks
- Plant trees to combat climate change
- Weed, water, harvest and plant at a garden
- Be a nature camp counselor and teach kiddos about the earth
- Clean up a river while kayaking
P.S. If you dont live in Cincinnati, Columbus, or Austin, you can invite a friend to POINT and join our waitlist. The more people on the list, the sooner we will be in your city!
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Ways To Volunteer In Columbus
Volunteering is an important way to give back to your community. No matter what your interests, abilities, and availability, theres a perfect volunteer opportunity for you.
If there is a field or cause that is close to your heart, we suggest that you start there, as passion is a wonderful fuel for volunteering.
There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in Columbus for families, groups, teens, college students, and older adults, as well as times and opportunities for adults who work full time.
Columbus Charities For Arts And Culture
The Gahanna Area Arts Council helps Gahannas residents to embrace their inner artists and attract outside artists to Gahanna to support the local creative community.
Global Gifts is a certified fair trade retailer that supports artisans from over 40 countries by providing them with a market and enriches our community by providing access to products from all over the world.
Sing Me a Story Foundations mission is to bring the voices of children in need to the world through music. Children are able to write and illustrate stories about anything they want and then songwriters turn them into songs and send them back to the kids they get their own original song!
Columbus Childrens Theatre aims to inspire, enrich and empower the imaginations of children and their families through live theatre and theatre education. Not to mention, they help kids build empathy for others by walking a mile in their shoesthrough acting.
CityMusic Columbus presents concerts series featuring world-class musicians from diverse genres in Columbus and provides music programs for underserved kids. We hear it, and were here for it!
Still not sure what volunteering to support the arts in Columbus looks like? Here are some ideas, or you can sign up for more volunteering opportunities on the POINT app!
Recommended Reading: St Mary’s Food Bank Surprise Az
Im Passionate About Hunger Relief
LSS Food Pantries
Customer Service Volunteers
Help Desk volunteers help customers without internet access place food orders and schedule pick-up times over the phone using our online ordering system.
Check-in volunteers greet and check in customers at our pantry distribution points using our computerized check in.
Customer Service Volunteers should be age 16 and older, have basic phone and computer skills, and great listening and communication skills. Training is required and volunteers are asked to commit to recurring volunteer shifts.
Once trained, Customer Service Volunteers can assist at the help desk or at any distribution point across central and southern Ohio.
Distribution Point Volunteers
Pantry distributions are a great place for individuals, families and groups to volunteer!
Volunteers will fill food orders placed by LSS Food Pantry clients and assist those shopping for fresh produce, bread and meat. Individuals and groups of up to 12 people are needed to volunteer at each pantry distribution. Some volunteers will need to lift up to 25 pounds. On the spot training is provided.
Click here to see our distribution sites, days and times.
Order Fulfillment Volunteers
Volunteers fill orders for pantry clients throughout Central Ohio and help process incoming food deliveries and donations from area partners.
Located at 245 N. Grant Ave. and 599 E. 8th St. in Columbus, OH
Faith Mission Kitchen Volunteers
Provide a Meal Volunteers
Meal Service And Food Banks In Columbus
- The South Side Roots Cafe and Market: Serving customers, stocking, food prep, etc. at this pay-what-you-can Cafe. Volunteers can be ages 13+.
- Sorting, packing, stocking
- Pantry Assistant at The Kroger Community Food Pantry at Mid-Ohio Foodbank: Help shoppers in the pantry and Pantry Express. Ages 16+, or 11-15 with an adult.
- Shop Thru Volunteer to assist partner agencies with pickups. Ages 16+
- Off-site pantry assistants and volunteers
- Community Garden volunteers : Ages 6+ depending on tasks
Dublin Food Pantry: Ages 16 and up can help with sorting, stocking, set-up, and 18+ can help with client shopping. Offsite special event and major food drives need volunteers as well.
Worthington Resource Pantry: . Ages 14+ can help with sorting, inspecting and repacking food donations, stocking shelves, greeting families and answering their questions, helping families choose their groceries. You may assist with administrative duties, direct families to available resources, participate in food drives and work on special projects.
Also Check: Food Banks Close To Me
Volunteer To Support Education In Columbus
Shaping young minds to equip them to create a great future is pretty neat, and helping adults continue their education to fully participate in adult life and thrive in our communities is also really neat. You can volunteer to tutor kids at local schools, or even help fund education programs. Volunteering with kids is so important and always a blastplus you never know whos life you might change for the better
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program In
Charitable programs are unable to fully support those facing hunger. The combination of charity and government assistance programs are necessary to help bridge the meal gap.
SNAP, formerly food stamps, provides temporary help for people going through hard times providing supplemental money to buy food until they can get back on their feet.
In ,
Read Also: Harry Chapin Food Bank Volunteer
Want To Know The Secret Of Feeling Really Really Good
Alright, Ill tell you. If you want to sleep easy at night, the surest way is to get out there in your community and give back.
Whether youre looking to care for animals or people, Columbus has no shortage of volunteer opportunities where you can make the perfect volunteer match. Volunteering at any local organization is a great way to give back to the community and theres no cause too small.
So how can you help in Columbus? Here are 50 ways to get involved in your area!
Volunteer To End Hunger In Columbus
Can you imagine not knowing where your next meal was coming from? As someone who starts thinking about my lunch at approximately 9:31am, my heart goes out to those facing food insecurity. Everyone needs food , but there are tons of people in Columbus without access to nutritious, affordable food. These charities work to end hunger in Columbus, so bring out your inner foodie and do some good!
Recommended Reading: Food Bank Of The Rockies Mobile Food Pantry Schedule
Hunger In Southeast Ohio
In Southeast Ohio, 1 in 6 individuals, including 1 in 4 children, struggle with hunger. Those facing food insecurity include seniors, children, working adults, veterans, and students. A combination of rising food prices, SNAP benefit cuts, wage stagnation and underemployment has contributed to an increase need in our emergency food services. These individuals face tough choices, choosing between food and other basic necessities like paying for utilities, transportation, medicine, housing, and education.
Volunteer At Second Harvest Food Bank
Volunteers play an essential role in the operations of Second Harvest and we could not do what we do without the help of thousands of volunteers each year. Last year alone, volunteers donated over 18,000 hours of service and repacked more than 1.3 Million LBS of food and grocery products, packed thousands of backpcks, mobile food pantry boxes and senior food boxes.
Volunteer opportunities are available for groups up to 45 people and individuals in our Volunteer Work Center. Larger groups should contact our to schedule. Hours are available to fit every schedule including normally one Saturday each month.
Volunteer Opportunities Include:
- Repack: Sorting, inspecting, relabeling or repacking food in our Repack Room.
- BackPack, Senior & Mobile Food Pantry Boxes: Packing bags and boxes for distribution to families and children in our Clean Room.
- On-Site Distribution: Be part of our mobile and school food pantry distributions.
- Office: Help out at our front desk by assist with filing, data entry, mailings and other administrative activities.
- Special Events / Projects: Support staff during events, activities, campaigns, mobile produce pantries, and food drives.
All volunteers are asked to review our prior to their volunteer shift.
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Columbus Businesses Allow Workers To Volunteer At Area Food Banks
When business slowed down this summer at some area companies, workers stepped up and volunteered at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective instead.
The volunteers said the arrangement helped fill a need on both sides. Instead of digging tunnels, several Smoot Construction workers dug in to take a bite out of hunger in the community.
“We got involved with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective kind of in an unusual way,” said Kevin Rollins, a project manager with Smoot Construction.
Rollins said when some project start dates got pushed back, the company wanted to keep its employees earning a paycheck.
“We had all these people, valuable resources, that we want to keep busy,” said Rollins. “We were out here working in the freezer area. Packing meat. Working at different pantries. helping folks hand out some of the free food- things that they have for the community. It was a very big deviation from what were used to doing.”
DNO Produce, which delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to area schools, also got involved.
“Just this summer we started a program where we utilized some of our labor that normally has a downturn in the summer,” said Alex DiNovo, whose family started DNO Produce. “We put that labor to use at the Mid-Ohio food collective. So that was a new thing for us and helped us to engage our labor where otherwise wed cut hours.”
He said DNO sent 21 workers there over the summer months.
He said it’s a win for DNO, for the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, and a big win for the community.
Free Stores And Family Assistance In Columbus
Welcome Warehouse: Helping families in the Dublin School District meet basic needs through the free store, emergency household assistance, and bed donation program. Volunteers are needed for for sorting donations, free shop volunteer, translators, mattress delivery, and volunteers during the Back-to-School Outreach in August. Ages 15 and up.
Furniture Bank of Central Ohio : Wide range of opportunities including Furniture repair, assembly, Thrift store volunteers, loading and unloading, client services, housewares organization, and more.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore: Volunteers are needed to assist customers, stock shelves, organize product displays, and unload donations from the vehicles of individual donors and ReStore trucks. Volunteers also assist with the processing of donations and administrative paperwork. Heavy lifting can be involved. Individuals must be 14 years older to volunteer in the ReStore. Youth under the age of 18 must have parent or guardian permission. Plenty of shifts are available, and you can once you are an volunteer.
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Nature And Outdoor Volunteering In Columbus
Habitat for Humanity: Volunteers of any skill level are welcome to join a worksite crew for building homes, deconstruction, and home repair. Shifts are available during the day, evening, and weekends. Volunteers can start at age 16, but a supervising adult must be present with youth. Plenty of shifts are available, and you can once you are an volunteer.
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks: If you love nature and the outdoors, join the team of volunteers who contribute their time, energy and talents toward the preservation and enjoyment of natural areas and parks for millions of Central Ohio visitors. Work schedules are flexible and depend on your chosen assignment and park. No previous training or experience is needed training programs are provided.
Columbus Nonprofits To Help Animals
Colony Cats is a no-kill cat and dog rescue that runs a cage-free cat adoption center and TNR programs.
Dreams on Horseback provides therapeutic riding and equine education programs to people with special needs, people with Alzheimers disease, and veterans.
Columbus Pet Rescue takes in and cares for stray, abandoned and neglected cats and dogs and rehabilitates them so that they can find new happy homes. Plus, they have their own Youtube channel of cute animal videos! Adorable.
Pets without Parents is a no-kill cat and dog shelter whose goal is to get animals to their furr-ever home. *Goes in to volunteer* *Walks out with 7 dogs and 5 cats*
Humane Society of Madison County provides medical care, shelter, and socialization for stray and surrendered dogs and cats. They have a Fresh Start Training Program that pairs inmates with homeless dogs as they turn sad and scared dogs into obedient and happy pups! We call that a win-win.
Still not sure what volunteering to help animals looks like? Here are some ideas, or you can sign up for animal volunteering opportunities on the POINT app!
- Donating supplies to a shelter
- Taking shelter dogs for walks and giving them baths
- Playing with kittens
- Cleaning up a shelter
Also Check: How To Donate Food To Food Banks