Call our help center at 216.738.2067
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank relies on the generosity of our food donors to ensure that everyone in our communities has the nutritious food they need, every day.
We accept donations of all types of food from many sources to distribute to our nonprofit partner agencies and member programs. Donors include manufacturers, retailers, distributors, produce vendors, food brokers, food shows, restaurants, freight companies, and Ohio growers and processors have all donated to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank If you work with food or other non-food items, we hope you’ll consider partnering with us and supporting our mission.!!
We accept donations of food or other non-food items no longer needed by the food industry, most often due to surplus or sales standards. Much of the food we accept is either overordered or mis-shipped, or blemished or close-dated such that it no longer meets customer expectations. If handled appropriately, these items are normally still completely safe for consumption.
Click on the link to learn more about what we can and cannot use!
The United States discards more food than any other country in the world. In 2022, 133 billion pounds of food was thrown away - about 30-40 percent of the US food supply. That is like every person in America throwing away more than 650 average-sized apples right into the garbage. By donating unsalable but otherwise consumable food to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, you are saving more than just food-you are saving labor, land, water, and energy.
There are tax incentives for donating, too! The PATH Act of 2015 makes the tax deductions for donated food simple, standardized, and permanent. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank will track your donations and provide you with the receipts that you’ll need. Talk to your tax advisor to learn more about your eligibility for these tax benefits.
Food safety is the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s primary concern. Every donated item that arrives at our AIB-audited facility is checked to make sure it meets our standards for distribution. Working with guidelines from the USDA, FDA, Feeding America, and more, we are able to safely give out donated food—even products deemed unsuitable for the grocery sales floor!
In addition to our culture of food safety, federal law provides robust protections for donors under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996. This law sets a liability floor of gross negligence or intentional misconduct for persons who donate grocery products, and protects donors from liability when donating apparently wholesome food in good faith.
Our staff is available to work with you to help take care of your donation. From one-time donations to recurring food recovery operations, we’ll help you implement the program that works best for you and your business!
Contact our Food Resources staff via email or at 216.738.2265.
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