Donate Funds

Cash donations are greatly appreciated and very helpful! We use donated funds to buy shelf stable food and perishable items such as fresh milk, meat and eggs. We can make your cash donations go a long way by buying from the Alameda County Community Food Bank and other discount sources. For each $1.00 you donate, we are able to purchase $7.00 worth of food!

To make a cash donation to the Berkeley Food Pantry please click the Donate via Credit Card button or the Donate via PayPal Account button at the top of this page. We also accept donations made by check, either in person or by mail. We are located at 1600 Sacramento Street Berkeley, CA  94702. Please make checks payable to Berkeley Food Pantry.

The Food Pantry operates under the 501(c)(3) status of the Berkeley Friends Church (EIN 94-6003752), and your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Other Donations

Donate Your Vehicle 

Berkeley Food Pantry partners with Cars, a 501(c)3 non-profit to accept vehicle donations. If you have any further questions about vehicle donations, please feel free to contact the director at director@berkeleyfoodpantry.org.

Gifts of Stock

Please consider making a gift of appreciated securities- stocks, bonds, or mutual funds to the Berkeley Food Pantry. Please contact the director at director@berkeleyfoodpantry.org for more information.

Planned Giving

The Berkeley Food Pantry would be honored to be considered to be named in your will or living trust, or named in memorial or honorary gifts. Please contact the director at director@berkeleyfoodpantry.org for more information.

Children's Books

We currently provide children's books to households who request them. We welcome donations of new or lightly used children's books for all ages. We accept donations of children's books between 9:30 a.m. -12 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For more information, please email donations@berkeleyfoodpantry.org.

Toiletries

We currently provide toiletries to households and unhoused individuals who request them. We welcome donations of toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, bath soap, deodorant, and shampoo. We accept donations of toiletries between 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For more information, please email donations@berkeleyfoodpantry.org.

Donate Food

We accept one-time food donations of packaged foods as long as they are not expired, damaged, or opened. We love donations of produce and fruit from home gardens and yards. Please bring your donations to the Berkeley Food Pantry at the Friends Church at 1600 Sacramento Street, Berkeley, CA (at the corner of Cedar and Sacramento Street) between 9:30 am- 12 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We have a donation table set up in our parking lot for donations to be left. You can access our parking lot from Sacramento Street. If you have further questions, please email donations@berkeleyfoodpantry.org. 

We encourage neighbors who are interested in donating food to join the Berkeley Neighborhood Food Project. Rather than making a one-time only donation of food, the BNFP provides an easy way for you to become an on-going food donor. Participants are given a BNFP bag and encouraged to fill it with extra food items purchased for the Berkeley Food Pantry each time they shop. On the second Saturday of every even-numbered month, a BNFP Neighborhood Coordinator will pick up your bag of food donations and deliver them to the pantry. Please go to this Berkeley Food Project Sign Up form to learn more about the project and how you can join.

If you are interested in organizing a food drive please email us at donations@berkeleyfoodpantry.org to make arrangements for us to receive your donation. Upon request, we will provide a receipt for tax purposes. We request the following popular foods and kitchen favorites often requested by those we serve:

• Canned meats such as tuna and chicken, low-sodium and low-fat.

• Peanut butter

• Shelf-stable tofu

• Low sugar breakfast cereal

• Canned soups, low-sodium

• Brown or white rice

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Shelf-stable non-dairy milk such as soy, almond, and oat

• Healthy snack foods for kids, such as low-sugar nutrition bars and dried fruit

• Energy or snack bars for unhoused visitors.

• Cooking oil

• Ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, and mayonnaise

• Seasoning such as salt, pepper, herbs, spices, and garlic

• Boxes of teabags

• Ground coffee