About Us

Who We Are:

The Huntington Area Food Bank (HAFB) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization affiliated with America's Second Harvest, the largest hunger relief agency in the United States. With their help, the HAFB has access to thousands of pounds of food and non-food items. The HAFB serves as a catalyst to get nutritious food to people in need of food assistance by centralizing the solicitation and collection of food and then redistributing it. The HAFB is the hub in a network of food donors and more than 290 agencies that serve hungry people in 17 counties in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio. The HAFB provides products to member agencies that feed the needy.

Food is free to the families who need it but the agencies pay between 0 and 18 cents per pound to help compensate for shipping and storage costs incurred by the HAFB.

The HAFB's mission is to help feed hungry people by distributing nutritious food and grocery product through our pantry/agency network. The HAFB envisions a future where no person in the service area goes hungry.

The HAFB is governed by a 16-member board of directors. Daily operations are delegated to an executive director.

Who We Help:

The HAFB provides product to food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, senior citizen programs, youth programs, and residential programs that know and directly serve the needs of hungry people. Member agencies must be private, non-profit and have an IRS 501 (c) (3).

Sadly, hunger remains a serious problem in the Tri-State area. Currently, the food bank helps feed more than 85,000 people each month. These people are grandparents, kids, moms and dads that struggle to meet their basic needs. Many of the families served by the food bank are the "working poor" - people who work hard and still have to choose between eating and other basic necessities such as medicine and housing.

How We Help:

Food donations come from local, regional and national sources.

• Providing that funds are available, HAFB semi-annually receives financial aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The aid goes to buy items that are in demand but rarely donated, such as meats, fruits and vegetables.
• The Food Bank has a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive and distribute government commodities in WV and KY.
• The HAFB's affiliation with America's Second Harvest, helps give access to food donations from national producers and processors.
• Local food drives held by groups ranging from veterans' organizations and schools to major retail stores and the U.S. postal service make it possible to provide much needed food to the area's needy families.
• Regional and local donations come from producers and retailers. Some of these generous donors include:
  • Macy's
  • Kroger
  • Heiner's
  • Pepperidge Farm
  • Olive Garden

History:

The Huntington Area Food Bank, Inc., is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization founded in 1983 and incorporated in West Virginia. Initially, the food bank served member agencies in Cabell and Wayne counties in West Virginia. However, the need was so great in the Tri-State area that the food bank expanded its service area after the first year. Currently, the HAFB's service area includes more than 290 non-profit member agencies in seventeen-counties in the Tri-State area.
In its first year of operation, the food bank distributed more than 299,999 pounds of food. Due to unemployment, families struggling to survive on minimum wages, and many other unfortunate circumstances the HAFB has steadily grown over the years to distribute millions of pounds of food each year.

2000 - Distributed more than 2 million pounds of food to help feed the Tri-State's hungry.

2002 - Dispersed 3.3 million pounds of food to reach the growing need.

2004 - Distributed over 3 million pounds of food.

2006 - The need is still growing. However, food donations declined and the food bank dispersed 2.7 million pounds of food to hungry persons in the Tri-State area.

Affiliations & Partners:

America's Second Harvest

The food bank is a certified member of America's Second Harvest, a national food bank clearinghouse in Chicago, which gives the HAFB access to thousands of pounds of food each year. There is no charge for the food, but the food bank does pay membership dues and shipping costs for the food received.
America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network is the largest charitable hunger-relief organization in the country addressing the problem of domestic hunger by distributing more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery product annually to more than 25 million hungry people in the United States, including 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.

United Way

The HAFB has been a United Way of the River Cities agency since 1984. The United Way provides financial support to the Food Bank. Many of the agencies the food bank serves are also affiliated with the United Way. United Way of the River Cities is a non-profit organization that seeks to better the human condition in our community. United Way garners resources -human and financial - and directs them to the organization, initiative or collaborative partnership that best addresses our area's most pressing problems.

990 Statement

A 990 is available here: 990 Statement

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint with discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). "USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer."

The Huntington Area Food Bank
1327 7th Avenue
Huntington, WV 25701

Phone: 304-523-6029
Fax: 304-523-6086
Email: hafbmail@hafb.org