Food Banks

Programs that gather, sort, store and distribute to participating charitable agencies, surplus food products and edible but unmarketable food that has been acquired from growers, grocers and other sources. Also included are the supermarket chains, food manufacturers, wholesalers, restaurant suppliers, agencies that organize food drives, government departments (e.g., the USDA) and other organizations that donate food on a regular basis to food banks and/or directly to food pantries, meal programs, homeless shelters and other human service agencies with food programs. (AIRS BD-1825.2000)