Food Bank vs. Food Pantry
The difference between a Food Bank and a Food Pantry
Many communities have a local "food pantry", sometimes mistakenly called a "food bank". Most of these community food pantries are sponsored by local area churches and/or community coalitions.
A community food pantry's mission is to "directly" serve local residents who suffer from hunger and food insecurity within a specified area.
Independent community food pantries are self-governing and usually distribute food to their clients on a once-a-month basis.
A food bank is the storehouse for millions of pounds of food and other products that go out to the community. A food pantry functions as the arms that reach out to that community directly.
The Fredericksburg Area Food Bank's mission is to "create a hunger free community" by providing food to these food pantries for distribution into their respective local communities. The Food Bank's daily operation consists of sourcing and gathering food, sorting and cataloging the food, then warehousing the inventory to be distributed to our over 80 partner agencies throughout our five county service area.
Food banks and food pantries - they are not the same. But they share the same commitment. At the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank we are proud of our partnership with food pantries - and many other organizations - who act with us on the belief that nobody should ever go hungry.