A number of food banks, soup kitchens for hot meals and free emergency food pantries in St. Mary's, Maryland distribute groceries to individuals or families who are in some form of an emergency situation.
There are also meals, free bags of food, personal toiletries and household goods for low to moderate income families from food pantries near you.
Distribution centers can include churches, non-profit organizations, community action agencies, and many other local charities as well as non-profits.
Salvation Army Food Pantry
The Salvation Army is dedicated to eliminating food insecurity.
The Salvation Army operates free local food banks around St. Mary's, Maryland from almost all of their local social service centers. The charity organization is involved in feeding millions of families each year, with a large percentage of those assisted being children as well as the elderly.
We have located 1 Salvation Army Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Maryland which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
The Salvation Army - St. Mary's County Service Unit
Services provided :
- Emergency Financial Assistance
- Seasonal Services
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (301) 769-2788 to book your appointment.
Address :
21506 Colton Point Rd,
Abell, MD 20606.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
Church Food Pantry
A number of churches around St. Mary's, Maryland have food pantries for those in their neighborhoods who are in need of food items.
Churches operate with food donations gathered and deliver to the food pantry nearest you by individuals using food drives.
Some churches also deliver food items to elderly who are unable to drive to a nearest community food pantry. Please contact your local church directly.
We have located 3 Church Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Maryland which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
The Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen at St. Paul’s Church
A hot meal and a warm smile. That’s what is offered to our community every Tuesday and Thursday from the soup kitchen at the St. Paul's Campus in Leonardtown. Teams of volunteers prepare and serve hot meals and distribute bags of staples to anyone that needs them. Meals are served every Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 to 12:30, and groceries are distributed on Thursdays.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (301) 475-7200 to book your appointment.
Address :
25550 Point Lookout Rd,
Leonardtown, MD 20650.
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Leonardtown
Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
Church of the Ascension Food Pantry
The Church of the Ascension food pantry is a collection of staples distributed to people with emergency food needs in the Lexington Park area. The pantry is located in the Church undercroft and is staffed by volunteers from H.O.P.E. and parishioners of the church. Their responsibility is to fill out the necessary paperwork for their files as well as for government food distribution. The Church of the Ascension is the host for special food drives at Easter and Thanksgiving and asks for volunteers to help collate and deliver the food during these drives. Donations of food for the food pantry can be left in the Narthex as you enter the church on Sunday. Monetary donations to the food pantry are gratefully accepted and can be put in the offering plate on Sunday mornings. The Social Outreach Chairperson uses the money to purchase food for the food pantry.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (301) 863-8551 to book your appointment.
Address :
21641 Great Mills Rd,
Lexington Park, MD 20653.
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Lexington Park
Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
Trinity Lutheran Church Food Pantry
Open every Wednesday 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., and provides food for members in the community in need.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (301) 863-9512 to book your appointment.
Address :
46707 Shangri-La Dr,
Lexington Park, MD 20653.
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Lexington Park
Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
Catholic Charities Food Pantry
Resources provided by the Catholic Charity organization focus on addressing food, holiday, and immigration needs.
Families of all religions, backgrounds, and cultures can contact Catholic Charity centers for help.
Catholic Charities in St. Mary's, Maryland are open to families on a first-come, first-serve basis. The centers operate during normal business hours, and provide walk-ins with groceries, food boxes, and items to prepare a meal.
The food pantries are like grocery stores, allow clients the ability to choose the items they need from the groceries that are available on site.
First-time clients of the food pantry will need to apply, and this is done from a one-page application. An applicant will need to provide basic household member as well as demographic information.
We have located 0 Catholic Charities Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Maryland which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Helping Hands Food Pantry
Helping Hands is a faith-based 501(c)(3) food pantry operated around St. Mary's, Maryland almost entirely by volunteers.
It provides a 7-day supply of groceries and personal care items free of charge to people in need, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Helping Hands is supported entirely by donations from individuals, service organizations, churches, and businesses in our community.
Find a local helping hands food pantry open near you.
We have located 0 Helping Hand Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Maryland which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Mobile Food Pantry
The mobile food pantry program distributes food directly to families in communities around St. Mary's, Maryland in need during large-scale one-day distributions.
A typical mobile pantry serves 200-250 families distributing up to 10,000 pounds of food. This past year over 6.6 million pounds were distributed through this program.
Mobile food pantries usually visit churches, community centers, schools, shopping centers, and other convenient locations. They usually go to areas where there aren't grocery stores or other food pantries.
Mobile Food Pantry Schedule 2024
Unlike traditional food pantries where you go to them, mobile pantry trucks come to you. Food banks sometimes have an online mobile food pantry schedule.
Mobile food pantry scheduled to visit a community once a week or once a month. There may be last-minute cancellations or changes so recheck the mobile food pantry schedule before you plan to go.
We have located 0 Mobile Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Model.Content.StateName which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
The St. Vincent de Paul food pantry operates around St. Mary's, Maryland much like a grocery store where people in need can choose their own food. It helps to enhance their personal dignity and reduces waste due to unwanted food items.
It also helps them to be proactive in addressing any underlying health issues. This is our model of choice for food pantries in the future.
We have located 0 St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Maryland which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Food Pantry Delivery Program
Food Pantry Delivery Program delivers food and other products once a month at twenty points in around St. Mary's, Maryland area. This makes it just a bit easier for some of more remote rural agencies to receive their products. About 70% of members take advantage of the Food Pantry Delivery Program.
Food Pantry
We have located 3 Food Pantry locations in St. Mary's, Maryland which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Good Samaritan - Our Daily Bread Food Pantry
Our Daily Bread food pantry is an important way for us to be Good Samaritans in our neighborhood. The food pantry provides non perishable food along with a frozen meat product twice weekly to local neighbors who are in need of food assistance. At times we have some fresh produce and bread products to offer as well. It is staffed by 3 or 4 volunteers each Wednesday and Friday to help in the food distribution and administrative work. On Mondays, a trip is required to go to the Southern Maryland Food Bank in Waldorf to pick up food/meat supplies for the week’s distribution.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (301) 863-4740 to book your appointment.
Address :
20850 Langley Rd,
Lexington Park, MD 20653.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Lexington Park
Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
St. Mark Bread of Life Food Pantry
The St. Mark Bread of Life Food Pantry was opened in April 2014. The food pantry theme verse is from John 6:35 – And Jesus said unto them, “I am the Bread of Life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.†Our MISSION is simple. We are an all-volunteer auxiliary of St. Mark UAME Church collecting and distributing food to those needy families in our community. During the year that we have been open we have given out over 950 bags of groceries to needy families. We solely operate on donations so if you would like to contribute to this worthwhile effort, please bring your donation to our Fellowship Hall on Mondays. We accept all non-perishable food items and are particularly thankful for canned goods, dry beans, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, cereal and oatmeal. We are blessed to be a blessing. OPEN Mondays – Noon – 2:30 PM
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (301) 994-2090 to book your appointment.
Address :
45685 Happyland Road Vly,
Lee, MD 20692.
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Lee
Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
First Friendship Food Pantry
The First Friendship food pantry reaches out to the local community, providing grocery staples to families in need. Deliveries are made to each home once a week.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call to book your appointment.
Address :
13723 Point Lookout Rd,
Ridge, MD 20680.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Ridge
Help Residents of Counties:
- St. Mary's
Drive-thru Food Pantries
Since the start of the coronavirus, drive-thru food pantries have become the safest, most efficient way to provide food to our struggling neighbors.
Who can visit a drive-thru pantry?
Drive-thru pantries are open for anyone who needs help getting food. There are no eligibility criteria. Visitors do not need to provide any identification or income statements.
Only two piece of information is asked
- You Zipcode, and
- Number of people in their family.
You dont need to take appointment. Drive-thru pantries are first-come, first served so plan to arrive early.
How do drive-thru pantries actually work?
There are lot of volunteers help at Drive-thru food pantries. While not all drive-thru pantries operate in the same way, here�s how most work:
Staff and volunteers direct visitors to the parking area.
Visitors pull up to the pantry in their car and are usually guided into a clearly marked queue. As people move through the pantry, staff will continue to move the cars forward to get everyone through as quickly and safely as possible.
Checkin.
You are required to fill some information for Pantry's recording keeping.
Food is loaded into the cars.
Pre-packed bags of food, usually full of shelf-stable items like pasta, canned fruit and peanut butter, as well as fresh produce and meats are loaded by volunteers into the trunk of the car.
Pet Food Pantry
One in four pet owners who give up their pets to a shelter say it is because they cannot afford to care for them. Pet Food Pantries are designed to fill the void in the nation�s current assistance programs that exclude the purchase of food and supplies for family pets.
The Pet Food Pantry provides free pet food, for 3 months or less, to pet owners who cannot afford to feed their pets in St. Mary's, Maryland
Who are eligible for Pet Food Pantry
Pet Food Pantry helps people who are:
- All ages, races and marital status
- Unemployed or underemployed
- Retired, living on social security or other limited income
- Physically or mentally disabled
- Experiencing homelessness or housing instability
Tips for Visiting a Food Pantry
Show up early.
This is very important. This means you will be first in line and have a chance to get the items that are sought after and in limited quantities such as fresh produce, dairy and frozen food.
You don't usually need to show up hours ahead of time but coming at least an hour before is usually a good idea.
Remember all documentation.
Many food pantries require documentation to prove who you are, and in some cases, where you live.
This is to make sure people are not coming more than they are allowed or using fake names to do so. Call ahead of time to find out what documentation is needed.
It's just your photo ID and a piece of mail that verifies your address.
Use several food banks.
Using more than one food bank (when available) is smart because you may be able to get something at one that you may not get at another.
For instance, one may have a deal with a local gardener that gives them their extras. This may mean this food bank has more produce.
Eligible for other programs?
Ask your Department of Social Services office if you are eligible for other assistance programs to supplement your household’s food supply.
They can easily tell you if you can apply for WIC (Women and Infant Children), USDA Commodities or SNAP(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.
Ask about extras.
If you have special needs for infants or special diets, the pantries may be able to assist you.
Many times, they can help with diapers, baby formula, baby food, personal hygiene products, and even special diet items like gluten free or sugar free foods.
Go on different days of the week.
Depending on the food pantry, they may be open only one or two days a week or they may be open all seven days. When you have a choice, going midweek is often best as it is less crowded.
Be polite to workers.
Nearly everyone at a food bank is a volunteer. Be polite to the workers there as they often deal with highly emotional situations.
FAQ(Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What is the difference between a food bank and a food pantry?
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.
2. What kind of food is at a food pantry?
Specifically, food banks often need items like:
- Peanut butter
- Canned soup
- Canned fruit
- Canned vegetables
- Pasta
- Canned beans
- Canned stew
- Canned fish
3. Who can go to food pantry?
At the majority of food pantries, eligibility is based on self-attested need. You do not need to have a referral, and income is not a factor to receive food.
4. What is the difference between a food pantry and a soup kitchen?
A food pantry provides three-day food packages to families that have a place to live, but not enough food. These packages are designed to provide nutritionally balanced meals. Soup kitchens serve individuals in need of a hot meal, the only meal of the day for many of them.
5. How does a food pantry work?
Food Banks acquire large donations of edible but unmarketable food from the food industry and distribute it to organizations that feed hungry people. Then they provide this food to family in a need.