Unlike a food pantry, a food bank has the space and capacity to handle large donations from the food industry. For example, a food bank has room for a donation of thousands of pounds of frozen, bulk carrots in one of its coolers and can safely process that donation into family-sized portions in its reclamation department. Food banks and food pantries work together to fill neighbors’ plates. The food bank sources, processes and temporarily stores large quantities of various foods. Then, food pantries choose the items and quantities they need to do their work.
