Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank

About Us FEED PEOPLE. FIGHT HUNGER. Hunger: one small word that affects many people in Northeast Ohio, from the youngest to the elderly. Parents who lost their jobs or are working in jobs with low wages struggle to put food on the table for their children. Seniors on fixed income make decisions about whether to buy food or pay for necessary prescription medications. People in need face these types of decisions every day and the Foodbank is here to help. The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank was formed in 1982 by a group of community leaders who made a commitment to provide emergency food to our neighbors in need. Today the Foodbank serves more than 430 community organizations, called Member Agencies, in eight Northeast Ohio Counties: Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne. These Member Agencies operate food pantries, hot meal sites, shelters and other hunger-relief programs in the neighborhoods and communities where people need food. How the Foodbank Operates The Foodbank is a distribution center that provides an efficient operation to collect, sort and distribute food. The Foodbank has an 85,000 square foot warehouse including 8,000 square feet of refrigeration and freezer space. The Foodbank secures food donations from corporate food donors, state and federal food assistance programs, and Feeding America, the national foodbank network. Food is also obtained through a purchase program where large quantities of food are purchased at reduced price to offer to the Member Agencies. This purchase program is supported by our financial donations. Much of the donated and purchased food is transported to the warehouse by the Foodbank’s fleet of trucks. The Product Recovery Center is where donated food is inspected, sorted and repackaged in preparation for distribution. Volunteers provide thousands of hours of support every year, helping to prepare this food for those in need. Every day Member Agencies place food orders and pick up these orders at the warehouse. The agencies provide this food through their hunger-relief programs to the hungry in their community or neighborhood. The Foodbank feeds approximately 179,800 people through this network every year. Critical Local Support The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank continues to distribute more food every year. Local donors provide critical support that allows the Foodbank to continue to feed more people. Local food donors provide over one-third of food donations, sourcing more food locally than government programs and Feeding America donations. Financial donors provide the resources not only to purchase food, but to fund transportation of food donations and support for warehouse operations. The Foodbank appreciates current and past support of food and financial donors and needs this support to continue in order to meet the needs of the hungry that live in our communities.