Donate - Help with Food

The HAFB welcomes personal or company food donations. Donations can be delivered or arranged to be picked up. Community food donations make up between 15-20% of the food the food bank distributes. Without support from the community, the HAFB would not be able to operate effectively.

Currently, community food donations are down more than 70% from previous years. The need for community food donations is in high demand, considering cut backs from government funding for USDA commodities by nearing 20% from previous years. With this looming situation, the food bank's inventory is not nearly enough to compensate for the hunger demands in the Tri-State area.

Ways You Can Help:

Clean out Cupboards
Bring all unneeded/unwanted non-perishable food items to the food bank. It is an easy way to donate foods to those who need it and helps free up space in the kitchen.

Start a Food Drive
Get together with friends, family, or co-workers and start a food drive to benefit the food bank. Pick a theme for the drive such as a "protein only" drive with a creative name. The HAFB will provide publicity materials such as brochures, display boards, and barrels for collection. When finished, the food bank will pick up the donated foods or the foods may be delivered.

Businesses with excess foods
Any business in the food industry with leftover foods can help feed the hungry by packaging and freezing it for the HAFB. Many businesses in the food industry now have "food rescue" initiatives to decrease the amount of wasted foods while doing a public service.
The HAFB will pick up the foods as often as needed at a convenient time for the restaurant or business. To get more information on how a restaurant or business can start a "food rescue" program for the HAFB, please call (304) 523-6029.

Benefits & Protections for Donating Foods
The primary benefit from donating food will always be the satisfaction that comes from seeing things used instead of wasted. However, there are also direct and indirect financial benefits:

• Save storage costs. Save room in coolers and on the energy bills.
• Save dumping fees. Dumping costs are expensive.
• Get a tax credit. A state tax credit is available to donors.
• We give receipts to all donors.
• Boost moral. Employees enjoy knowing they're helping others and like working for generous employers.

Food donors are protected by The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Law; created to help increase food donations to non-profit organizations. It's a federal statute, which offers protection to anyone who donates food in good faith to a food bank or gleaning organization, should anyone who eats the food become ill.

Most Needed:
Protein tops the HAFB's ongoing needs list. Foods high in Protein are an important part of a nutritional diet and they are always needed in the food pantry shelves. Several items are rich in protein and nutritional to fit the needs of a healthy diet, which is especially important for children and the elderly:

• Dry beans
  
• Peanut butter
• Canned meats (tuna, chicken, sausages, spam)
• Canned Chili
• Cheese
• Pasta
  
• Oats
• Nuts
  
  
  
  

List of most needed items (PDF)

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

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