Mobile Food Pantry

The Mobile Food Pantry program began in 2000 and has been averaging 2.25 million pounds of food in distribution every year.

The Mobile Food Panty consists of refurbished beverage trucks serving as self-contained food pantries that provide food assistance to rural communities lacking substantial infrastructure. The Food Bank works in partnership with local sponsors, such as food pantries or churches, to bring the Mobile Food Pantry to these areas. Volunteers help distribute the food to people who need food assistance. The Mobile Food Pantry program began in 2000, distributing 2.25 million pounds of food in that year

The Mobile Food Pantry is a wonderful service for the rural regions of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina’s 34 county service area. Refurbished beverage trucks act as “pantries on wheels” by delivering food to communities that cannot meet the need for food due to the limited resources of the local emergency food providers. Each delivery is sponsored by a local agency that pre-screens all those seeking food assistance and provides volunteer support to assist in the food distribution.

The Mobile Food Pantry is able to distribute produce, perishables, bread, and other food items that can be difficult for traditional pantries to provide. Many of the families who receive this food lack transportation to emergency food services.

The Mobile Food Pantry is operated out of the Food Bank’s Greenville branch. There are currently one tractor and two trailers serving as the Mobile Food Pantry, providing food to 33 sites in 11 counties. The area served by the Mobile Food Pantry spans 19,000 square miles. The total food distribution for the Mobile Food Pantry for the year 2000 (its first year of operation) was 2.25 million pounds.