How to Support Food Pantries Beyond Donating Cans

The annual can drive is the most visible form of food pantry support, and it is genuinely helpful. But if you want to make a larger impact, there are more effective ways to help. WHAT FOOD PANTRIES ACTUALLY NEED MOST High-protein shelf-stable foods are almost always in short supply: canned tuna, chicken, and salmon; peanut butter; canned beans and lentils. Cooking basics like vegetable oil, flour, sugar, and rice are also high priority. Hygiene products — soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant — are rarely collected in can drives but are desperately needed. FINANCIAL DONATIONS A $25 financial donation to a food bank's purchasing program can buy significantly more food than $25 worth of canned goods from a retail store. Pantries that participate in food bank networks purchase at deeply discounted rates. VOLUNTEER TIME The New Love Center and First Methodist food pantries in Lock Haven are both volunteer-run. The work is logistical: sorting incoming donations, stocking shelves, greeting clients, helping load bags. Shifts run 3-4 hours. ORGANIZING A DRIVE WITH HIGHER-IMPACT ITEMS If you are running a collection drive at your workplace or school, consider specifying what to bring. A peanut butter and oil drive or a hygiene items drive will produce donations that make a more meaningful difference than a general canned food drive. REDUCING FOOD WASTE Some community members donate surplus garden produce, particularly in summer and fall. If you have a vegetable garden, ask the pantry whether they can accept fresh produce and how to coordinate drop-off.