Community Food Bank
of the Upstate

In early 1982, the Community Planning Council recommended that the United Way fund and provide the initial management to organize what we know now as The Community Food Bank of the Upstate. The United Way provided $5,000 for start-up funds and allocated $30,000 annually to get the Food Bank to a good start. They hired the first executive director and the Food Bank was on the way.

The Food Bank began by serving 20 agencies mostly from the Greenville area. The initial food product came from the community grocery stores, product that would have been considered waste or placed in the dumpsters. Since its early beginning in 1982, the mission of the food bank has been to reduce hunger and minimize food waste in the upstate of South Carolina. The Food Bank solicits donations of nutritious surplus food from the food industry and distributes these products to over 200 nonprofit certified agencies. 

The Community Food Bank's first 1000 square foot warehouse
was located on Camperdown Way in downtown Greenville, SC

The Food Bank began with a handful of companies providing food and resources for our operation.  Broadening this base was a first priority to bring the proper nutrition and the need together for our programs serving the disadvantaged.  We now have approximately 60 companies/entities providing much needed nutrition to over 225,000 people a year.

The Community Food Bank of the Upstate now maintains a 12,000 square foot warehouse and distributes approximately 300,000 pounds of food per year.  We also solicit non-edible products such as paper goods and soap, as Rescue Missions and on-site feeding programs can benefit from these products as well as individuals. Product mix is always a priority, but ingenuity and educating our agencies with recipes and sharing ideas on meal preparation can be beneficial. We educate our agencies and the general public about proper nutrition at a low cost, feeding more for less. For every dollar donated, the Community Food Bank of the Upstate can distribute $14 worth of food.

Our Centralized system with a large walk in cooler and freezer alleviates some transportation problems and travel costs by the agency having to make one stop for all their needs as they relate to feeding families.

We are now in a Capital Fund Raising Campaign, raising money to pay off our current $325,000 mortgage so that we will be able to focus more aggressively in feeding the people of our communities. Because of your care and support of the Community Food Bank of the Upstate our current mortgage principal balance has been reduced by $45,500.00 in just 18 months time.

We have accepted everything from dented canned goods to meat and household items.  If you live in the upstate and would like to help, please contact us!