Food Pantry in Wilkes, North Carolina

A number of food banks, soup kitchens for hot meals and free emergency food pantries in Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 0 Salvation Army Food Pantry locations in Wilkes, North Carolina which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.

Church Food Pantry

A number of churches around Wilkes, North Carolina 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 1 Church Food Pantry locations in Wilkes, North Carolina which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.

Peace Haven Baptist Church - Byrdridge Crisis Center

The Byrd Ridge Crisis Center, located in the Peace Haven Baptist Church Family Life Center, provides a Food Pantry to those in need in Wilkes and surrounding counties. Clients are eligible to receive food once every 6 weeks.

The Food Pantry is open each week on Wednesday and clients are seen by appointments only.

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 (336) 838-5847 to book your appointment.

Address :

737 Byrd Ridge Rd,
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659.
Get Directions

Hours Of Operations :

  • Mon: Closed
  • Tues: 08:00 AM - 01:00 PM
  • Wed: Closed
  • Thurs: Closed
  • Fri: Closed
  • Sat: Closed
  • Sun: Closed

Help Residents of Cities:

  • North Wilkesboro

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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 Wilkes, North Carolina 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 5 Food Pantry locations in Wilkes, North Carolina which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.

ALFA AIDS Leadership Foothills Area Alliance

ALFA's mission is to improve the lives and health of those affected by HIV/AIDS while preventing transmission through education and testing. We provide client services to anyone diagnosed with HIV/AIDS including resource and referral, case management, emergency financial assistance,transportation, food pantry, and client empowerment activities. ALFA Client Services staff members work together to answer questions and help people infected or affected by HIV to connect with community resources and services

ALFA case managers are available Monday through Friday to provide support, information, and referrals to persons living with HIV in the foothills area of North Carolina. We can assist with things like locating an HIV-friendly dentist, filling out a form for ADAP or Medicare coverage, providing information about grants for home repair, or finding support to combat discrimination based on HIV status. Often we can answer questions quickly and confidentially with just a phone call or brief office visit.

ALFA provides free & confidential HIV testing daily at our office- 9- 4:30.

All services are free and confidential, and available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

If you are living with HIV and believe you may need case management services, please contact us by calling 828-322-1447.

Services provided :

  • food pantry
  • transportation
  • health education
  • disease management
  • sex education
  • disease screening
  • financial assistance
  • navigating the system
  • help fill out forms
  • support network
  • one-on-one support

Appointments :

You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (828) 322-1447 to book your appointment.

Address :

1120 Fairgrove Church Rd SE, SUITE 28,
Hickory, NC 28602.
Get Directions

Hours Of Operations :

  • Mon: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Tues: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Wed: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Thurs: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Fri: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Sat: Closed
  • Sun: Closed

Help Residents of Counties:

  • Alexander
  • Alleghany
  • Ashe
  • Burke
  • Caldwell
  • Catawba
  • Lincoln
  • Watauga
  • Wilkes

YMCA of Western North Carolina

The Healthy Living Pantry (HLP) is a resource to families in Asheville and surrounding communities who need temporary food assistance. The goal of our pantry is to provide food assistance and create lifelong healthy eating habits by providing fresh produce, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein. Cooking demonstrations include ingredients offered in the pantry that week so participants learn how best to cook the food they receive. Nutrition and cooking demonstrations start at 4:35pm on scheduled nights and distribution is 5pm–6:30pm.

For more information please contact Lisa Riggsbee, healthy living manager-nutrition programs, at lriggsbee@ymcawnc.org or 828 775 7081.

Services provided :

  • emergency food
  • food pantry
  • nutrition education

Appointments :

You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (828) 775-7081 to book your appointment.

Address :

201 Beaverdam Rd,
Asheville, NC 28804.
Get Directions

Hours Of Operations :

  • Mon: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Tues: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Wed: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Thurs: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Fri: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Sat: Closed
  • Sun: Closed

Help Residents of Counties:

  • Alexander
  • Alleghany
  • Ashe
  • Avery
  • Buncombe
  • Burke
  • Caldwell
  • Catawba
  • Cherokee
  • Clay
  • Cleveland
  • Graham
  • Haywood
  • Henderson
  • Jackson
  • Macon
  • Madison
  • Mcdowell
  • Mitchell
  • Polk
  • Rutherford
  • Stokes
  • Surry
  • Swain
  • Transylvania
  • Watauga
  • Wilkes
  • Yancey

Hospitality House of the Boone Area Inc.

Bread of Life is the only kitchen in the High Country serving 3-meals-a-day, 7/365-days-a-year. Meals are provided to all residents and any community members in poverty and need. The meals are managed by our food service coordinator and prepared by churches, civic organizations, and volunteers.

Our Food Box Program is available to those in the community who qualify for low-income assistance.

Meals are available everyday:

Breakfast: 6:30 am - 8:30 am
Lunch: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Dinner: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Food boxes are available everyday from 9:00 - 11:00 am and 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.

Services provided :

  • food pantry
  • meals

Appointments :

You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (828) 264-1237 to book your appointment.

Address :

338 Brookhollow Rd,
Boone, NC 28607.
Get Directions

Hours Of Operations :

  • Mon: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Tues: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Wed: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Thurs: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Fri: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
  • Sat: Closed
  • Sun: Closed

Help Residents of Counties:

  • Alleghany
  • Ashe
  • Avery
  • Mitchell
  • Watauga
  • Wilkes
  • Yancey

BMBA - h.o.p.e. Ministry

h.o.p.e. Ministry is a servant ministry providing a Food Bank, Baby Closet, Woodshed and is the hub for other outreach ministries and handiman project ministries for the association. h.o.p.e. was founded in 2003 and is currently run by John Triplett, Jackie Hollis and a host of volunteers. Open three days a week, h.o.p.e.'s primary operation is a food bank that over the first 10 years of operation, distributed over 1.4 million pounds of food to 100,000 individuals in 33,000 families. The ministry is supported primarily by the Brushy Mountain Baptist Association churches but other denominations, civic groups, businesses and individuals also contribute with food, wood, baby supplies, monetary donations and volunteers.

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 (336) 903-1414 to book your appointment.

Address :

514 Elkin Hwy N,
Wilkesboro, NC 28659.
Get Directions

Hours Of Operations :

  • Mon:
  • Tues:
  • Wed:
  • Thurs:
  • Fri:
  • Sat:
  • Sun:

Help Residents of Cities:

  • Wilkesboro

Help Residents of Counties:

  • Wilkes

Samaritan Kitchen of Wilkes Inc.

Samaritan Kitchen of Wilkes opened in March 1998. Since then we've grown considerably. What started out as one program, the Saturday Delivery program, which fed 60 families every Saturday, now has two large feeding programs the Client Choice Pantry and Project: BackPack. The Client Choice Pantry provides food to families in need. Along with a volunteer, clients walk through a grocery style setting selecting the items that their family prefers to eat; i.e., Cheerios or Shredded Wheat, Chicken Noodle Soup or Vegetable Soup. Clients select items based on how many members are in their family. Local grocery stores donate short-dated breads and meats. In 2014, the program was open a total of 168 days; number of families served totaled 3,427; total number of individuals within those families totaled 8,673; total pounds of food and other product (toilet paper, diapers, cleaners, health & beauty items, etc.) distributed for year totaled 200,490 pounds; and the number of new families added was 186. Project: BackPack. At the beginning of each school year parents are informed of our program to assist families with children in danger of going hungry over the weekend. Those interested may apply through their school counselor to have a backpack sent home with their child at the end of each week containing two breakfasts (packs of oatmeal), two lunches (beans and franks, cup a soup, etc.), two dinners (ravioli, tuna, etc.), a sleeve of crackers and snacks. Approximately every six weeks they also take home a pound jar of peanut butter. Periodically, as funds and donations allow, we also send home soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other health and beauty items. At the end of the school year the last bag sent home is a “summer survival” bag with extra food, activities, health & beauty items, and any other items we have received that a child may enjoy. Last year, the program was open 32 weeks; distributing 21,058 bags of food (126,348 meals) which equated to a total of 93,499 pounds for the calendar year with an average of 623 children being served each week. Approximately one-half of the food for Project: Backpack is donated; the rest is purchased through funds from grants and other donors. Currently Samaritan Kitchen is serving approximately 650 children weekly. This program costs $7.80 per child, per week. This school year we will be providing for students for 35 weeks so the annual cost, per student, is $273.00.

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 (336) 838-5331 to book your appointment.

Address :

4187 Us Hwy 421,
Wilkesboro, NC 28697.
Get Directions

Hours Of Operations :

  • Mon:
  • Tues:
  • Wed:
  • Thurs:
  • Fri:
  • Sat:
  • Sun:

Help Residents of Cities:

  • Wilkesboro

Help Residents of Counties:

  • Wilkes

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 Wilkes, North Carolina

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.