Food Resources Near You

Find Food Resources in SLO County

The SLO Food Bank and its community partners offer free nutritious food across SLO County. There are so many resources available to you, including food distributions, meals, pantry sites, and more.

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Please click below for more information on additional food services in SLO County:

Food Resources Map

The SLO Food Bank maintains a map of free and public meals, food distributions, and pantries throughout the county. We rely upon information provided by our Hunger Relief Network, so please call ahead to verify hours and available services.

If you see your nonprofit listed with incorrect information on our Food Locator, please contact us, and we will promptly update it.

How to use the Food map

Easily find pantries nearby that match your specific household, dietary and scheduling needs. Just select the filters that match your preferences in the top bar of the map. Click Hours & Programs under each listing to see necessary information. When using Open Today button, always double check the dates the program is available under Hours & Programs.

Distribution & Pantry Updates

Neighborhood Food Distribution Updates

November 2023

  • Creston Community Church: The distribution on November 23rd has been rescheduled to November 30th from 3:00 to 4:00pm.  

December 2023

  • CL Smith Elementary School: The distribution on December 14th will be cancelled. 
  • Cuesta College San Luis Obispo: The distribution on December 19th is being rescheduled to December 5th.
  • Cuesta College Paso Robles: The distribution on December 19th is being rescheduled to December 5th.
  • Sherwood Park: The distribution on December 26th will be cancelled.
  • Cal Poly: The distribution on December 26th will be cancelled. 
  • Dana Elementary: The distribution on December 26th will be cancelled.
  • San Simeon: The distribution at Oceanside Apartments on December 26th will be rescheduled to December 19th.
  • Soto Park: The distribution on December 27th will be cancelled.
  • San Miguel Mission: The distribution on December 27th will be cancelled.
  • Del Mar Elementary: The distribution on December 28th will be cancelled. 
  • Creston Community Church: The distribution on December 28th will be rescheduled to December 14th.

January 2024

  • Salvation Army SLO: The distribution on January 1st, 2024 will be cancelled.

Pantry Changes

To support more efficient operations for our staff, the SLO Food Bank front office and warehouse will be adopting new posted hours for pre-packaged emergency food assistance and food and monetary donations. We will continue to provide assorted shelf-stable foods, fresh produce, No Cook Bags, and more to our community members from the front desk within our posted hours.

Our posted operating hours will be:

  • Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
  • Closed Saturday and Sunday

If you are looking for food resources outside of our service hours, please refer to the Food Assistance Map above. Thank you for your patience during these updates.

Senior Home Delivery Program

Partnering with Ride-On Transportation and Wilshire Community Services, the SLO Food Bank’s Senior Home Delivery program provides weekly grocery deliveries to low-income, homebound older adults facing food insecurity in San Luis Obispo county.

ELIGIBILITY

Individuals are eligible if:

  • They meet the income guidelines for the Emergency Food Assistance Program
  • They are aged 60 and up
  • They are homebound for any reason, including health and transportation restrictions and access barriers to our traditional services

ENROLLMENT

To enroll, please contact Jessica Devereaux from Wilshire Community Services at 805-547-7025 ext. 2217 (office) or 805-858-8288 (cell).

Neighborhood Food Distributions

Neighborhood Food Distributions offer pre-packaged units of fresh produce, shelf-stable food, meat, and more, depending on availability. SLO Food Bank offers more than 50 Neighborhood Food Distributions across SLO County. All of our Neighborhood Food Distributions are free to income-eligible recipients, open to the public, and located in every community countywide.

Distribution Calendar

You can find our traditional Distribution Calendar in English and Spanish. However, we recommend that you use the Food Resources Map above to find distributions near you. Just plug-in your zip code, radius of the area in which you’d like to find services, and preferred day(s) of the week. You can also click “More Filters” and select the “Neighborhood Food Distribution” Food Program category to see just distributions. The results are then available for download with the red button in the top right corner.

Pick Up for Someone Else

Looking to pick up food for someone else? Please complete an Alternate Pick-Up Form on their behalf and bring it with you to the food distribution. Forms should be completed ahead of time and a new one should be presented each time food is picked up.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Most of the food available at Neighborhood Food Distributions is provided by The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a program administered by the USDA. There are Federal Income Guidelines for recipients to self-determine if they qualify for food assistance, which are also available at distributions for participants to view. By signing your name and providing basic household information on the sign-in sheet, you are self-certifying that you meet these income guidelines. Proof of income, Identification, of proof of residency is never requested or required at Neighborhood Food Distributions. See question below for more information on privacy.

Personal information collected during the sign-in process at a Neighborhood Food Distribution is never shared and is kept only for statistics that help us understand how to serve our community better.

No pre-registry or enrollment is required to attend any Neighborhood Food Distribution. When you arrive at the location of a Neighborhood Food Distribution, you will only have to sign in to self-certify that you have reviewed the income guidelines and are eligible to receive USDA food. For reference, here are copies of the sign-in sheet in English and Spanish.

Yes, you can have someone pick up food on your behalf at any of our Neighborhood Food Distributions. Please read and sign an Alternative Pickup Request Form (English and Spanish) and have the person picking up for you bring it to one of our distributions.

You will receive various fruits and vegetables and a household supply of assorted shelf-stable groceries. Depending on availability, other food items such as protein, dairy or bread products may be available. 

We have options for you in the form of a no cooking required bag of food. Call the SLO Food Bank at 805-238-4664 and ask about No-Cook Bags.  

Recipients are not limited to the number of distributions they can attend throughout the county. Most Neighborhood Food Distributions only occur once per month at each location. 

Proof of income, residency, employment, or personal identification is never requested at Neighborhood Food Distributions.

Receiving food assistance is not considered under Public Charge determination and will not affect your immigration status.

There is not currently a large-scale charitable home delivery service in SLO County for individuals under the age of 60. You can, however, have someone pick up food on your behalf at one of our Neighborhood Food Distributions by reading and signing an Alternative Pickup Request Form (English and Spanish) and asking the person picking up for you to bring it to one of our distributions.

You may also consider applying for CalFresh benefits, which you can use in the Instacart app for grocery delivery. Additionally, some grocery stores offer delivery for free or with a minimum order. Check your local store’s website or app to confirm.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

MAIL

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410

fax

(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442

email

[email protected]