Donate Food and Items

Food donations are so appreciated. Last year, we distributed more than 3 million pounds of food and donations from individuals in our community made that possible.

Yes, we do need and accept handled paper grocery bags (double bagged when possible) and clean egg cartons!

Food To Donate

While we welcome all varieties of nonperishable foods, there are several foods that are always in short supply. These include:

  • peanut or other nut butters (especially crunchy)
  • shelf stable milk and milk alternatives (rice, soy, oat, etc)
  • canned fruit (we never have enough)
  • canned chicken, tuna, and salmon
  • soups and stews
  • cereal
  • cooking oil
  • dried spices and herbs
  • baby formula and diapers (especially sizes 4-6)

For a more extensive list of what foods to donate, please visit our section about  hosting a food drive.

Public health rules prevent us from accepting any homemade, already opened, or unlabeled food, so please leave grandma’s strawberry jam and your half-used jar of cooking oil at home. Thanks.

Think “Outside of the Can”

Did you know we can accept more than just your canned food donations? We also appreciate donations of:

  • handled, sturdy paper grocery bags are used for packing groceries for walk-up and home delivery customers,
  • toiletries and hygiene supplies like soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products all help food bank customers meet more of their basic needs,
  • fresh produce from your home garden, CSA, or P-Patch is quite popular with our customers,
  • pet food (especially cat food) helps food bank families keep their pets well nourished too, and
  • clean, one dozen egg cartons for repackaging eggs that we buy in bulk .

Where To Bring Your Food Donations

Food donations can be dropped off to the food bank Monday through Saturday at 5017 Roosevelt Way NE. We can receive donations Monday from 10am-3pm, Tuesday 9am-through 7:30pm, Wednesday from 9am-1pm, Thursday from 9am-through 7:30pm, Friday from 10am-4pm, and Saturday from 9am-1pm.

When dropping off donations, please don’t park in the bike lane. You can pull into our garage driveway to get off the street. Please watch out for pedestrians because our sidewalk is active when we are open.

If you cannot bring food by when we are open, you may also leave it in our donation barrel at the QFC in University Village which is inside the SW entry vestibule.