Top Food banks in Seattle, United States

This place is like a porch light in the Louisiana swamp, the way it attracts homeless people camping all around it. Subsequently neighboring businesses get broken into and robbed every night. You can even see them stripping wire on the corner next to the Food bank, freshly ripped out of someone’s walls

Great service. SOME of the staff are really nice and helpful, some seem like they'd definitely rather be somewhere else. Lots of non meat and non dairy options.

Why are ya closed during the holidays and long extended period of times? That's when people need food the most? Especially at the end of the month.

I stopped here and was able to service myself like I was at a grocery store. They have order to there operations which made it easy for me to get in and get what I needed and get out.

The kindness Cafe and the truly all inclusive centeralized abilitly to resources and the information , dates , and the limits and the vast amount of what is available , while being able to enjoy a hot meal , cup of coffee relax or to be able to share a meal, and have conversations with others, is a much more human interaction.

I have been there several times,and I'm always impressed by how organized and friendly all the staff is!

Wonderful happy thanksgiving dinner, served by happy loving volunteers, that seemed to make my day better 😀 The grocery line went very fast. They have all their ducks in a row. Very organized.

prepare for crowds, but despite this, the staff is incredibly organized and the shopping process is incredibly smooth. Often has an excellent selection, and the Kindness Cafe puts some love into their food. This is the best resource for food insecurity in Seattle; Ballard can be out of the way for some, but the D Line will take you practically to their doorstep

Ballard food Bank provides ample fresh produce and sufficient meats. I have started using the appointment option and its worked out very well. If you bring your own bags you can be rewarded with an extra gift.

The Cafe always smells absolutely delicious. I have not eaten at the Cafe yet. BUT i really appreciate that it's offered.

The staff and the other clients are all incredibly friendly and helpful. This is a godsend blessing to me right now. Thank you Ballard Food Bank!!

Everybody loves it,its great & need donations,very kind peopke

Love the Ballard food make it's a great place to go if you are need a food food I recommend this place over any other food bank in Seattle but the you district food bank is second in line for being a great food bank I like Ballard Food Bank also because I can get my mail there and also they help with bike locks sometimes when they have them for your bike

You will be able to regain your freedom to choose food based on your needs/interests and not on how much it costs. This place greatly contributed to my emotional health during difficult time. Their food at cafe is always hearty and delicious with the sense of love which we often miss. They always have different menus every time I go so I always look forward to their food. Volunteers are very helpful with full of hospitality to help you in any ways. The cafeteria is clean and well-air conditioned. They have vegan options, ready-made food options, and also even have some flowers & books. Some bonus, like snacks, teas, and drinks fills your heart showing that you need not only basic food to fill your nutrition but also to fulfill your mind.
I used to shop at supermarkets trying to choose the cheapest ones, or those discounted ones. Now, I do not even pay and I get much better food than when I used to shop. This makes you feel more confident showing you that you do have the rights to have good quality food and be happy. This place does not only make you feel secured about food resource, but also make you filled with love, compassion and positivity. This will change your life tremendously. Now, going there is a weekly joyful event that I look forward to, and it has been worth looking forward to. Truly, food bank gives you much more than food.

The people at University Food Bank are very nice and work very hard. Yet here I I give three, not five stars, for one thing: the staff makes no effort to enforce per person quotas. Upon entry, each person is given a card stating how much they food they are allowed from each area - say, produce, meats, or canned goods - based upon their household. I.e.,whether or not they are single, married, or married with children. Their food quota is adjusted accordingly. This is obviously to ensure that the food is divided fairly and according to each patron's need.

Yet it seems the staff pay no attention to this. Time and again I have seen people who, from all appearances, are clearly not married with four kids at home, shamelessly walk to the checkout with their carts spilling over with groceries, and the staff simply bag it and wave them through. I regularly see people gingerly taking three items from a section with a sign saying "One Per Family." And so on.

All this means that after an hour-and-a-half wait, by the time you are let in, the shelves are almost bare. I have come in and seen almost nothing available, with nearly a dozen people with their carts piled high, lingering while waiting for the staff to fill their special requests.

If you want to patronize this food bank, get there at least one, if not two hours before it opens, or you might be wasting your time.

This place is really great, but they keep changing their Friday schedule. They are usually open on Fridays, but two weeks ago, I went, and they were closed. And then, this last Friday, I looked at the schedule and it said they were closed on Fridays but open on Saturdays so I had to go somewhere else which only had day meals, and then I looked again on Saturday morning, and they switched their schedule to back to open on Fridays and closed on Saturdays. So now, I have no food for the weekend, cool. This is frustrating because I actually went from a 5-day work week to a 4-day work week so I can get some food resources.

i'm more taken back at the absolute entitled poor reviews you didn't get to the bank on time to get any good food or somebody's parked in the bike lane. Sounds like those people need to make some adjustments I missed the days when Seattle wasn't known as freeattle

Volunteer staff is amazing especially dealing with such a tough crowd almost always. At times it doesn't feel safe at all with the mentality I'll and addicts often causing a ruckus in line or harassing people as we come and go but staff is very great at de-escalation in all situations I have seen and they do truly care about and know many people in the community. These people truly care and to be treated with a smile to be treated like a human , not a charity case, in the hard time of need for anyone and everyone , to be treated with kindness is so amazing. Thank you staff for always being amazing and showing care and compassion and keeping everyone safe . Thank you for allowing us to come in and not be super rushed to get great varieties of food, including fresh, that we truly need to be healthy no matter our situation. It's set up like a grocery store and you can shop and there's a section for those who can't cook and it's full of great meals for all types of diets. It means a lot to be treated kindly and to be able to get more than a canned good. Having the option to get fresh fruit and vegetables means more than you know when money isn't there to buy food for your family. If I could I'd bless this food bank and it's volunteer staff with millions. We owe them so much. Please be kind and if you find this place isn't for you please be kind and find somewhere else to go. Don't be mean to staff or people patiently waiting. It can take a while even if you get in line early so people can not buy rushed and grab items they need. The only issue here is the same people get in line over a hour early and take more than what's allowed on their family size card but volunteers Im sure feel uncomfortable saying put that back or telling people no so unfortunately they just help pwople bag whatever they chose to grab. That often means many fruits and fresh vegetables aren't available for anyone else past the first 15 people who were in line. And that's even with constant restocking while we are there getting what's needed. People will wait and grab and take more than allowed shorting all other families and it's unfortunate because many of us have children. I wouldn't complain because they are all volunteering to help us and I'm sure they are way to used to the disrespectful people and the cursing and a lot of anti social people and behaviors on a daily basis unfortunately. But come on people. Be polite and kind. And we know you understand, that doesn't fly because we're all in the same community and communicate. Why disrespect people and or the community that's so giving? I'll never understand it. Thank you staff for your patience and kindness it means more than you know. You are super important and life changing I promise.

They always have fresh fruits and veggies. Love this place and am grateful for the help they provide to the community.

Staff is always so nice and so very helpful!! Plus they now have a little bistro/restaurant style seating and serve hot/fresh delicious plates of food as well!! 🤍this place and couldn't live without it! Thank u to all the staff & volunteers who make this such a great place!!

I am really not impressed! Change your criteria online so it doesn't say you're a food bank and people will stop wasting their time showing up and hoping when they are already struggling! Your volunteers are very rude, especially the old lady at the front that greets everyone! Confrontational first thing even before going into the what ever bank? Don't waste your time here people!

Place is nice. Some staff are good. Others have attitude problem and don't call you by your preferred name....

Where is the food? No seniors meals, food etc...No clothing assistance, no assistance for Seniors....... Why can't seniors get a box of desired foods and dietary delivered?? Where is the Shelter Plus CARE Vouchers for Seniors that are Disabled?.....

It is in a very unique location, underneath the puke place market in the parking garage, but there are very clear signs to follow to get there. Everyone that has helped me when I come here has been just so incredibly helpful and kind. The food they offer is good too. They have different stuff all of the time. They even offer dog and cat food!

The Pike Place Market Food Bank is completely unprepared for people with disabilities currently, especially those of us with issues standing for long periods. Online it says to let a staff member know if you have these issues so that they can find you a place to sit until you can come up to the front. When I got there, the person I talked to was at a loss for what to do with me. Additionally, I was very rudely told to move from the seat she did find.

Once I finally got registered (first time I'd been there in years), she decided to make up a bag instead of having the person checking people in take note to call me up. This meant I was limited to less than 1/3rd of the selections I would have otherwise been able to choose from and I didn't get a single meal's worth of food.

Finally, she put my food in a single paper bag without asking anything about how I was getting things home. The bag broke halfway through a crosswalk and I had to carry the items cradled in the broken remains of the bag. It broke a second time and I had to wrap everything in my vest to get it home. I couldn't use any support getting home and my back will be messed up for days.

Absolutely do not use this food bank unless you come prepared with your own bags and some kind of seating for yourself.

Here has a red hair jerk (red hair older guy) who is racist and discriminator. We already reported so many time verbally and by email. I don’t know why they still kept him here as volunteers. When there is no meat or protein available for customers. He could get whole chicken or beef steak for himself. When he works never pay attention or discriminate customers. I wouldn’t remove this comment until this food bank expulsion this guy. (He works around 12:00-2:00pm Wednesday and Thursday) I am appreciate all other volunteers who are working hard and very nice

Don't accept the white mystery meat. It doesn't cook like normal meat, and doesn't taste right. Joked around that it might be human, still waiting on the test results......the smell when cooked was horrid. Dahmer would've loved it.

I have visited this food bank a few times over the last 3 or 4 months and it has always been a huge help. The selection has been decent and the staff/volunteers have been super nice and helpful.

Not open on fridays,disappointed nothing was referenced. 20 degrees out waste of time and energy.

The selection can be mid, but it's fully staffed and smoothly-run. The volunteers do all of the food handling; you give them your bag and they fill it with the items you request as you move down the buffet line. (This entirely eliminates weird interactions between people regarding their items.)

Overall, it's almost worth the trip just for the day-old bagels and baguettes from the Market. Potatoes and Lactaid are just a bonus

my partner and I have been going here for a couple weeks. It's always been pretty chill and the soup is great, but there is NO semblance of security or supervision here whatsoever. Today was a bad day.

She was forcibly mobbed/bullied out of the area by shoppers, who were *enabled* by an employee who taunted her about calling the police. She left in distress, flagged down a police car two blocks away and filed a report. There are two squad cars there as I type this.

No one in the food bank or parish will pick up the phone and all of their inboxes are full. They should probably know their volunteers need some semblance of training. Last week, a man in line behind me was antagonizing another with racial slurs, and the woman in charge wouldn't even cross the table barrier to manage the situation, she just waved her arms around saying "you have to stop!" and then disappeared back into the kitchen. There are bus drivers better at this.

The Catholic Church is apparently more skilled at shuffling abusive priests around the country than running a safe local food bank.

EDIT: just got off the phone with the "supervisor" in an attempt to calmly get more information as to how the incident STARTED. I was stonewalled, he told me to "talk to the police.” He refused to give me any answers to my questions and just responded with "you weren't there...she was crazy." I asked to escalate this to THEIR supervisor but the response was "I'm not going to bother them about this" before rambling nonsensically and hanging up. Fantastic communication and de-escalation skills.

I was verbally and physically assaulted on premise, and my experience was invalidated by staff. It's been a really helpful resource for me up until today, however male staff member sided with the creeps. **SPD was contacted; incident report filed.**

I was verbally assaulted for taking "too much bread?" by some corny caucasian monk, after being physically assaulted by a man grabbing produce, touching my breast.

I called him on it. I told him to say excuse me, because he touched me and it wasn't ok. Male employee stepped in, immediately said I was "overreacting" and that he probably just "grazed" me, as if that's better? and he still didn't owe me an apology?
The man was obviously embarrassed by being called out, because he began bothering me again at the food sorting table, where I was being verbally attacked by aforementioned "monk".
While fighting these two off, I had my groceries grabbed by other shoppers filling carts while I was trying to get my two personal bags situated. I mention this because I was being targeted for taking "too much" when there were others taking much more.

I was the only one asked to leave- by male employee- for causing "a problem". I was defending myself while surrounded by large, grown men standing inches from me. And panicking. And accused by a male staff member who inserted himself mid-situation, with zero context.

The daily lunches are a good thing for people but the weekly grocery shopping is unsafe. The entire operation has ZERO SECURITY so DO NOT GO ALONE if you are at all wary.
The ladies who work are kind, and mean well.

First place besides one weird one out of some attempt at fear mongering behavior, solid and surprisingly nice staff, I just leave this here as record, reviews aren't required, but this is an honest one.

I thought this was a food bank, but they just gave me a cup of coffee and soup. Seems to be just another soup kitchen 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks for the great service!

South Lake Union district, Seattle, WA, USA,

Sat 07 Oct 2023 AD 03:55 PM PDT

Today 9/11/2023 @ 12:00 pm was my first experience to come at this food bank and my application was so smooth and sweet. Ms. Cheon ( store coordinator) accomodated me and my husband so well with our application and the store was so organized and the staff are so helpful and always smiling. Until when we reached the end of the line and Ms. Eilleen and her co-worker was so kind in assisting us pack our goodies and even up to the parking area. Oh I forgot the lady at the entrance door who was so informative and kind to let us know the steps to apply. ALL IN ALL YOU LADIES AND GENTLEMEN made our first day so special. MORE POWER AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL...

Monday through Friday 10 am sack lunches for passers by or in need ,plus tourist elevator and construction, also floor P4 or P5. Also regular food bank services if in need. Helpful I asked for directions and they gave money, lol blessings

Not everything in pictures is what they will give you, But it's good enough to eat. So really kind people and if go get your ID with you. Don't worry it's about where you live.

The volunteers are so nice and helpful. The freshness of the food is nice, no spoilage.
They also have food for pets. If you want to beat the "crowd" I'd suggest to arrive early as people start lining up before they open at 10am.

I'm not one to gush but I'm going to this time. These people and this food bank have been a Godsend during these dreadful times. Cheo, Tracey, Shandy, Linda, Micki, the guy in produce the people who help you out the door, all of them (I know I missed naming a few of you, but you're included) are so kind, and I'm grateful for your help and your pleasant demeanor. I always leave here with plenty of food, a great selection, and a sense that I just might make it. Thank you!

I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just me and there is something wrong with me but my experience with their rental and utility assistance was atrocious. I have never felt more ignored and unheard. It took a month for anyone to even acknowledge my request and that was after I followed up many. Many. Times. Then. Every single time I spoke to someone there, I was told wildly different things. Wildly. Then they never actually gave me assistance. I jumped through hoop and hoop and hoop and months later they never helped. I honestly don’t understand and have to assume it is a personal response where they are selective in which people they want to help.

I went there and they were closed because of their policy I was not helped. They say they are a food bank to help people who are in need but than put restrictions like have to have a rental agreement within certain zip code. So if you are homeless or have children and not in these zip codes you tough stuff out of luck or tsl. I

Everyone who volunteers is extremely friendly and helpful. And they are always looking for more help/volunteers & donations. If you feel like giving back to your community, this would be a great place to start. Not to mention they also help you with a variety of life's obstacles. Such as; electricity/utility bills, they can help with emergency rent, help you find a job, and a number of stresses. All you have to do is ask, trust me they are there to help and have no problem with you asking, so don't be afraid to.

These people are so rude at this church but I see why people is grabbing things taking stuff out of people's hands especially the volunteers but still the staff is rude head by Christian supposedly. I told him I had IBD but them holding all this food in the hand in their hand I mean. They're like take it or leave it not knowing that Abd is very picky on food especially beef well anyways this guy had chicken and pork in his hand saying take it or leave it I told my predicament if IBD and this evil Christian didn't really care

This is a wonderful community resource and an inspiring example of how we can all come together to help each other. I had some extra food, so I donated them here, confident that it would be put to good use!

Thank you Ballard Food Bank! Humbled to the point of tears at the quality of the food and access of this location during a big life transition. Ballard Food Bank is easy to visit and can supply you with full nutrition (including some GF options for the wheat intolerant) as well as additional supplies concerning dental hygiene, feminine products, baby food and diapers and some treats for dogs and cats when available. I’ll post images of the foods I was able to find so you know the type of quality nutrients you can get here. They even had a small selection of botanicals! I went home hopeful. Thank you to the volunteers making this place work. I hope to volunteer here soon.

Come earlier if you are planning to visit Pike market, and even you can have a nice parking place with flat parking fee $10 if you arrive before 9:00am, you can leave to until 9:00pm!

Sometimes they can be really slow and sometimes I leave with a total of 3 meals and bunch of food that is a day or two from expiring but overall the people are really nice and there have been days were I come home with so much food. It doesnt matter the food is donated and i get what i can get. Staff is super friendly and really like the way the food bank is set up. I really do appreciate what you guys so keep it up!

Like going here to save money pretty good choices! but some of the staff is kind of questionable, not the volunteers! It runs better than it use to. A lot more organized everyone gets along with each other. Only had really one problem their two weeks ago with another Client. gave him one he wanted everything was all good ! Had to change my review a little it offended One of the staff the one I was talking about sorry, I was just joking but I do take things too far sometimes.

Long lines, people shove, some of staff are very cranky. Food selection is OK, as with any foodbank, check expiration dates. I've gotten great food but I've also gotten food that went bad in 2012! Also you can only go once a month during the day, and once at night. We tried going last night and it was so crowded we couldn't even park. Well, that was due to some bad parkers, but the place was packed out the door so we had to leave. If you're really in need, don't have anxiety issues, and in the zip code area, they are open MWF 11-1.