Learn more about our Community Grocery Distributions
World Harvest's Community Grocery Distributions provide families and individuals with a grocery-style experience designed to meet their real needs with dignity and care. Each household receives a generous and balanced selection including fresh and frozen proteins, ready-to-eat items, grains like rice and beans, tortillas, eggs, fresh produce along with breads and other staples.
This model ensures that families are supported not only with food, but with the variety and nutrition necessary to sustain them for one week, restoring both dignity and choice in the process.
Our distribution events are designed to look like farmers markets where community members can move through different sections and stations to select their items. We feature dedicated stations including a protein station, produce station, bread, rice and beans station, and additional stations for extra household items such as hand sanitizers, PPE, or other items based on the specific needs of the community or requests from community partners.
When World Harvest puts on the event directly, we add tables, decorations, and special touches like our famous station featuring beautiful ceramic chickens and roosters, creating a homey and community-oriented atmosphere. However, when we deliver to community events organized by partners, we provide all the food items listed above but do not provide the event setup, decorations, or distribution management. We deliver all items on time and can support in assembling items, but it's up to the partner organization to manage the actual distribution. Some decide to distribute pre-packed boxes of produce while others add proteins on the side.
A staple reminder for our community grocery distributions: bring a cart! The generous amount of food we provide requires it, and we don't provide bags—this is groceries for the household.
Partnerships & Distribution Models
Through a combination of fee-for-service and grant-driven partnerships with city council districts, community organizations, tenant unions, and many other local partners, World Harvest is able to meet communities where they are. Whether through neighborhood-based distributions, partner pick-ups, or mobile delivery into areas most affected by food insecurity, we bring nourishment directly to the community with the help of trained staff and dedicated volunteers, ensuring no one is left behind.
Impact
Because of the substantial amount of food we provide, families are able to redirect their grocery money for that week or month toward other essential household expenses. This grocery-style distribution model creates meaningful economic relief while maintaining dignity and choice, the main driving force behind our approach.
So far in 2025, we conducted distribution events through both World Harvest-organized events and community partner events, providing more than 3,000 boxes of food to our communities. In September 2025, we launched a weekly distribution program in partnership with the YMCA—please see our press section for more information about this exciting new initiative.
For inquiries or if you would like to request a distribution event for your community, please email us at info@worldharvestfoodbank.org