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Donation Guidelines

The Greater Boston Food Bank accepts many different types of non-perishable food.

Click here for a printable list of most desired food items.

Short list of most desired food items

• Dairy: Milk - dried, evaporated, and boxed (such as Parmalat)

• Protein: Beef stew, nuts, peanut butter, beans, and peas (dried or canned), chili, tuna fish, chicken, salmon (canned)

• Vegetables: Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, vegetables (canned), tomato juice

• Fruit: Raisins and other dried fruit, applesauce, any canned fruit in its own juice

• Grains: Crackers, oatmeal, whole grain rice, all types of pasta, ready to eat low sugar/high fiber cereal (Cheerios, Raisin Bran, etc.)

General guidelines for donations from food drives

• We accept all non-perishable (not frozen or refrigerated), sealed, unexpired food
• We also accept unopened toiletries (shampoo, soap, shaving cream, etc.) that should be kept separate from any food donation
• We prefer non-glass containers for the safety of our volunteers
• We have some tolerance for expired foods but they must be no more than 3 months past expiration
• We cannot accept baby food or pet food from a food drive

Unfortunately we do not have the resources to pick up donations of less than 400 lbs. (about 20 full copier paper boxes). We are open from 8 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday for food drop-off.

Please register your food drive here in order to receive our food drive information e-mail.