If you live in Rochester, New York, and need free food now, food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens are a great place to start. In New York, there are close to 1,100 food pantries. This post will provide a list of food pantries in Rochester, NY, including addresses and phone numbers.
The quickest way to get free food now is through food pantries and soup kitchens. We have provided below the list of food panty locations in Rochester, NY.
Continue reading below to see the complete list of food pantries.
However, over the long term, food stamps (SNAP benefits) offer another way to get access to nutritious food, if you are struggling to provide food for your household.
To see if you qualify for food stamps, see our eligibility guide here.
In addition, if you are eligible for food stamps, you may qualify for expedited processing of your application if you have very low or no income.
If you are found to be eligible for expedited SNAP processing, you will get your food stamps benefits in 5 days.
For details on how to apply for SNAP benefits in Rochester and details about expedited processing, continue reading below.
What is a Food Pantry?
A food pantry is a distribution center where hungry families can receive food. Supplied with food from a food bank, pantries feed hundreds of people per week!
At a mobile pantry, truckloads of food are distributed to people in pre-packed boxes or displayed on folding tables like a farmer’s market.
How different is a food pantry from a food bank?
A food bank is a non-profit that safely stores millions of pounds of food that will soon be delivered to local food programs, like a food pantry.
The food they store is donated from local neighbors, retailers, grocery stores, and restaurants.
To get the food into the hands of the community, food banks hire drivers to make the deliveries. Every food bank serves a specific area that varies in size.
List of Food Pantries in Rochester, NY
Here is the list of food pantries in Rochester, including addresses and phone numbers.
Additionally, some of the food pantries listed below offer food stamps pre-screening services for free (to help you determine if you qualify for food stamps).
House of Mercy
285 Ormond Street
Rochester, NY – 14605
Phone: (585) 546-2580
St. Andrew’s Food Pantry
890 Portland Avenue
Rochester, NY – 14621
Phone: (585) 338-1764
Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf
1618 Jackson Road
Penfield, NY – 14526
Phone: (585) 234-0799
First Presbyterian Church of Chili Food Cupboard
3600 Chili Avenue
Rochester, NY – 14624
Phone: (585) 889-9896
Spencerport Ecumenical Food Shelf
4997 West Ridge Rd
Spencerport, NY – 14559
Phone: (585) 397-0290
Union Presbyterian Church – Food Pantry
67 Lake Avenue
Blasdell, NY – 14219
Phone: (716) 823-5137
Twin Cities Food Cupboard
4 Center Street
Manchester, NY – 14504
Phone: (585) 289-3046
Gleaners Community Kitchen
183 N Main Street
Canandaigua, NY – 14424
Phone: (585) 394-4818
Honeoye Food Pantry
8758 Main Street
Honeoye, NY – 14471
Phone: (585) 721-0009
You May Qualify for SNAP
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits help you pay for food. You can use SNAP at grocery stores, supermarkets, and farmer’s markets.
Anyone can apply for SNAP benefits.
You may be eligible even if you have a job, receive SSI or disability benefits, own a home, or own a car.
If you are eligible and approved for benefits, you will receive SNAP benefits within 30 days.
Additionally, certain households with little income or savings, or with high housing costs, can receive SNAP benefits within five days (see below for details).
For details about SNAP eligibility and how to apply in Rochester, see our post on Rochester, NY Food Stamps Guide.
How to Get Emergency SNAP
You may be eligible for expedited SNAP if you meet one of the following:
- Your household has $100 or less in liquid resources and less than $150 in gross monthly income.
- You are a migrant or seasonal farmworker household with $100 or less in liquid resources and you have not received any income since you applied for SNAP, or
- Your household’s monthly income and liquid resources together are less than the total of your monthly rent or mortgage and heating costs and utilities (electricity, telephone, and water).
Food Pantries in Rochester NY Summary
We hope this post on Food Pantries in Rochester NY was helpful to you!
If you have more questions about your New York EBT or SNAP Benefits, please let us know in the comments section below.
For more help on what and where you can use your New York EBT Card, check out our other articles here: