Grants for Food Banks and Food Pantries: Who Funds Them

Food banks and food pantries get grants from private and company foundations, from grocery chains and their foundations, and from federal food programs that run through state agencies. GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns found 15,090 private foundations that paid $889 million to food banks, pantries and other hunger-relief groups in 40,978 grants in tax years 2022 to 2025, and 4,503 of those foundations list how to apply on their latest return.

Quick Answer: What grants are available for food pantries?

Food pantries can ask local family, bank and utility foundations whose returns list how to apply, and grocery programs such as Walmart's Spark Good Local Grants ($250 to $5,000, read November 2026). Federal TEFAP food comes through regional food banks, not as grants. Most foundation grants to food banks and pantries are under $25,000.

How much do foundations give food banks?

Most foundation grants to food banks and pantries are small: 85% were under $25,000, and almost half were under $5,000. The big numbers come from a few very large gifts.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax years 2022 to 2025, the latest return on file for each foundation (93% of these grants fall in tax years 2024 and 2025). Recipients matched by name or grant purpose include food banks, food pantries, food shelves, soup kitchens and national hunger groups.

The 78 grants of $1 million or more carried a quarter of the dollars. The largest was Lilly Endowment's $75 million to Feeding America, which explains most of its $89.9 million total, so a large-dollar ranking mostly describes national gifts. For a local pantry the useful figure is the middle of the table: a request of $1,000 to $25,000 matches what two thirds of these grants paid.

Purpose lines are usually plain. In a sample of 30 typical grants from the returns, 14 purpose lines say only operating, general or unrestricted support; one of the few that named a project was a $2,000 grant in tax year 2024 to a church in Canton, Ohio, for "two freezers and meat for a food pantry."

Which foundations fund food banks?

The foundations that pay the most food banks and pantries are company foundations, especially banks, utilities and grocers, plus regional family foundations that fund dozens of small pantries in one or two states. Counting the number of hunger-relief groups each one paid shows who funds organizations like yours.

Four of the eight foundations that paid the most recipients run employee giving: Edward Jones Foundation (185 recipients, median $300), JPMorgan Chase Foundation (152, median $750), The Pfizer Foundation (152, median $200) and The Cigna Group Foundation (89, median $260). That money follows where employees give or volunteer, and it is not a program a pantry can apply to. The Land O'Lakes Foundation ranks second (153 recipients, median $1,500), and its purpose lines include matches of member cooperatives' gifts, so a pantry reaches it through a local co-op.

Leaving those out, these foundations paid the most food banks and pantries:

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax years 2022 to 2025 (most foundations have one or two years on file). "Recipients" counts the different hunger-relief organizations paid.

Regional funders pay the most separate groups: Town Pump paid 101, all in Montana, and the Agnes M Lindsay Trust paid 100 in four states, among them Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, each with a median of $5,000. Bank and utility foundations are prominent too, and some stay close to home: all 46 of Franklin Savings Bank's recipients are in Maine. By dollars, the Otto Bremer Trust in St Paul stands out among funders whose returns list how to apply, with 40 grants totaling $6.1 million (median $112,500) to 21 hunger-relief groups in five states.

Across all 15,090 foundations, 70% (10,559) say preselected only on their latest return, meaning they do not take unsolicited requests. The guide to foundations that do not accept unsolicited proposals explains what it means and what to do, and who funds organizations like mine shows how to work backward from a peer pantry's funders.

Food bank grants by state

California has the most foundations paying food banks and pantries, 1,943, and Illinois received the most dollars, though most of Illinois's total is one national gift. The median grant in each of the top 15 states is between $3,000 and $5,000.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax years 2022 to 2025. A row counts the foundations that paid at least one hunger-relief group in that state, wherever the foundation is based. Each state links to GrantCue's free list of the foundations whose largest share of grants goes to that state.

Read two rows with care. Illinois includes Lilly Endowment's $75 million to Feeding America, which is based in Chicago; without it, Illinois groups received about $56.1 million. The District of Columbia row reflects national organizations based there, with only 88 recipients behind 772 grants. Georgia (449 foundations), Minnesota (433), Washington (417), Connecticut (401) and Arizona (371) come next.

Grocery company grants for food pantries

Grocery chains give to food banks and pantries through store grants and company foundations, and each one uses its own process and region.

Walmart Spark Good Local Grants

Walmart's Spark Good Local Grants come from its stores, Sam's Clubs and distribution centers, range from $250 to $5,000, and must go to organizations serving the same area as the facility. Faith-based groups qualify when the project benefits the broader community, and the page names food pantries, clothing closets and soup kitchens as examples. Applications run in three cycles in Walmart's fiscal year 2027: February 1 to April 15, May 1 to July 15 and August 1 to December 31, through a Spark Good account (Walmart, Spark Good Local Grants, read November 2026). The Wal-Mart Foundation's own returns tell a different story: six grants to food banks with a median of $750,000, to national and regional groups.

Publix Super Markets Charities

Publix Super Markets Charities takes hunger relief requests from March 1 to April 30 for a September decision, and only from organizations that operate or serve clients in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia or Kentucky (Publix Charities, Request Support, read November 2026). Its 191 grants to food banks in the returns have a median of $50,000 and went to 71 recipients, led by Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida ($787,000), Feeding America Tampa Bay ($764,382) and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina ($620,000). Across all causes, its 2024 return itemizes 3,269 grants, its returns for tax years 2023 and 2024 show a median grant of $2,500, and 60.5% of its dollars went to Florida.

Kroger

Kroger gives through the company and two foundations: The Kroger Co. Foundation, a private foundation established in 1987, and The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, a public charity established in 2018 (Kroger, Community, read November 2026). Only the first files a 990-PF. Its 49 food bank grants in the returns went to 47 recipients in 25 states with a median of $12,000, and its latest return lists how to apply.

The Meijer Foundation's latest returns say preselected only. Companies that give through a public charity or straight from the company are not in this data.

Are there government grants for food banks?

Yes, but most federal food money reaches a pantry as food and storage funds through a state agency and a regional food bank, not as a grant it applies for. The main program is USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP; fact sheet read November 2026).

Under TEFAP, USDA buys food and gives it, with administrative funds, to state agencies, which pass it to local agencies they select, usually food banks; those distribute to the soup kitchens and food pantries that serve the public. Public or private nonprofits that provide food to people with low income may qualify as eligible recipient agencies, and states choose which ones they work with. In fiscal year 2024 TEFAP received $461.5 million to buy food and $80 million for administrative costs (USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, TEFAP Fact Sheet, read November 2026). A pantry usually receives TEFAP food through its regional food bank; Feeding America's food bank locator lists the food banks in its network (read November 2026).

Competitive federal grants exist for larger projects. USDA's Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (NIFA, read November 2026) funds projects that address food and nutrition security and become self-sustaining after one federal contribution. Its fiscal year 2026 round opened June 15, 2026 and closed July 16, 2026, with $4.8 million in total, awards of $25,000 to $400,000 and a required match (NIFA, read November 2026). Public food program providers, tribal organizations and private nonprofits, including gleaners, may apply. Read what a federal match requirement means before planning for the next round.

States and food bank associations also regrant. Feeding Illinois ran an Illinois Farm to Food Bank Capacity-Building Grant in 2026 for cold storage, vehicles and facility upgrades; applications closed March 8, 2026, applicants needed a letter of support from a Feeding Illinois food bank, and awards totaled more than $1 million (Feeding Illinois, Capacity-Building Grant, read November 2026). Ask your state's food bank association whether it runs a round like it.

How does a small food pantry get funding?

A small pantry can draw on three sources: food and support from its regional food bank, small local grants, and gifts from congregations, businesses and neighbors.

Start with the food bank: becoming its partner agency is the usual route to TEFAP food. Then go local. The state table shows that thousands of foundations pay hunger-relief groups, and the funder table shows that several of the most active fund within one region. Small first grants also give a pantry a record to show later funders; small local grants to build a track record covers how to use them.

Restaurant and retail programs are another local door, but read each one's rules. The Popeyes Foundation's Food Love Grants, for example, ranged from $1,000 to more than $60,000 in 2026, but they are invitation only; a nonprofit can fill in a consideration form for a future cycle, and the foundation does not fund groups with a specific religious affiliation (Popeyes Foundation, Food Love Grants, read November 2026).

How to apply for a food bank grant

Apply first to the funders that already pay pantries in your area, and time each request to that funder's calendar.

1. Open your state's free foundation list and the profiles of the foundations near you. A profile shows a foundation's largest grants; a free account opens its full grant list, which you can filter by purpose to find its grants to food banks and pantries.
2. Read each one's latest 990-PF: the grant list shows who it paid and how much, and the application section shows whether it takes requests.
3. Check each funder's own site; a return can be two years old.
4. Ask for a specific amount for a specific use (a freezer, a delivery route, a month of fresh produce), close to that funder's usual grant.
5. Keep your numbers ready: households served, pounds distributed, volunteers and the food bank you partner with. A sample grant proposal for a food bank shows how to lay them out.
6. Put the next windows on the calendar.

A free GrantCue account can save these funders, suggest grants that fit the pantry's profile, and track each window as a deadline.

FAQ

How do I get a Walmart grant for a food pantry?

Apply for a Spark Good Local Grant through a Spark Good account, to the Walmart store, Sam's Club or distribution center that serves your area. Grants range from $250 to $5,000, and organizations must be verified through Walmart's verification partner. Faith-based groups qualify when the project benefits the wider community, such as a food pantry. The three cycles in Walmart's fiscal year 2027 run February 1 to April 15, May 1 to July 15 and August 1 to December 31, and a funded group may not reapply to the same facility that fiscal year.

Can a church food pantry get grants?

Yes, with conditions. Walmart's local grants accept faith-based organizations whose projects benefit the broader community, and a church pantry can become a partner agency of its regional food bank, which brings USDA food through TEFAP. Some funders exclude religious groups: the Popeyes Foundation does not fund groups with a specific religious affiliation. Running the pantry with its own budget, volunteers and records makes it easier to show a funder that the money serves the whole community.

What is TEFAP and can a food pantry apply?

TEFAP, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, is a USDA program that buys food and gives it, with administrative funds, to state agencies. States pass the food to local agencies they select, usually food banks, which distribute it to pantries and soup kitchens. A pantry does not apply to USDA; it becomes an eligible recipient agency through its state's system, usually by partnering with its regional food bank. In fiscal year 2024 TEFAP had $461.5 million for food and $80 million for administration.

How much do foundations give food pantries?

Most foundation grants to food banks and pantries are small. In GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns for tax years 2022 to 2025, 85% of 40,978 grants were under $25,000 and almost half were under $5,000. Regional funders that pay many pantries, such as the Town Pump Charitable Foundation in Montana and the Agnes M Lindsay Trust in New England, had a median grant of $5,000. Ask for an amount close to what each funder usually gives.

Are there grants to start a food pantry?

A new pantry is easier to fund once it has partners and a few months of records. Start by partnering with your regional food bank, which can supply food, and with a church or nonprofit that already has tax-exempt status. Then apply for small local grants, such as Walmart's Spark Good grants of $250 to $5,000, and use them to build the record that larger funders ask for.

Which grocery stores give grants to food banks?

Walmart offers Spark Good Local Grants of $250 to $5,000 through its stores. Publix Super Markets Charities takes hunger relief requests from March 1 to April 30 from groups in eight Southeastern states. The Kroger Co. Foundation's latest return lists how to apply, and its food bank grants had a median of $12,000. The Meijer Foundation's latest returns say preselected only. Check each company's own page for current rules before applying.

Find the foundations that fund food banks near you

The next step is a short list of the foundations that already pay pantries in your state, with each one's window on a calendar. Start from the foundations that give in your state on GrantCue's free state lists, then create a free GrantCue account to open each one's full grant list, save the ones that have paid pantries, track their deadlines and get alerts when new grants open. GrantCue's guides to Walmart grants, Kroger grants and Publix grants explain each company's store and foundation programs and how to ask. For the wider search beyond food programs, the guide to finding grants for nonprofits covers every channel.