The Stark County Hunger Task Force is a support organization committed to the alleviation of hunger in our communities. We offer a variety of services:

• We work with a wide net of individuals, schools, businesses, and civic organizations to organize food drives. That food is then picked up by individual pantries and taken directly to their sites. Every effort is made to ensure that the pantries we work with receive a fair share of food from these collections.
• We solicit funds from individuals, churches, businesses, and civic groups. Those funds are used to purchase food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank (ACRFB). Almost all of our pantries have a specific allowance per month from the Hunger Task Force to shop at the ACRFB. We must stretch every dollar donated to us, and be responsible stewards of the donations entrusted to us. Financial support is based on a calculation derived from your pantry’s total budget, and the amount of people you serve each month.
• The Stark County Hunger Task Force vehicles are available for our pantries to borrow for their hunger fighting needs. This includes, but is not limited to, making trips to Akron for pick-ups from the Foodbank.
• We work with our pantries to determine special needs, such as freezers, refrigerators, dollies, and shelving, as well as other products. When those needs are identified, we seek out grant money or use donations to meet them.

Both existing and newly-founded pantries can apply to become part of the Stark County Hunger Task Force network by filling out the form below, and by calling our office at 330-455-6667 or sending an inquiry to P.O. Box 20941, Canton, OH 44701.

In order to be accepted, pantries must:

1. Have a food pantry which is ready to distribute, with a location and regular hours of operation determined. The site must be able to provide volunteers to order and pick up food, prepare bags for give-away, qualify applicants, and do minimal record-keeping. The Foodbank will also provide government guidelines the pantry must follow. In most cases, the pantry will also need some financial support beyond the Hunger Task Force.
2. Have 501(c)3 non-profit determination, with documentation of that status from the IRS. Applications can be picked up from the post office, and usually require the assistance of an attorney to be completed.
3. Be a member of the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank in good standing. Please call Katie Carver at 330-777-7577 for an application.
4. New pantries must be in a geographic location not already covered by one of our existing member pantries, or have different operating hours not covered by existing member pantries within that geographic area.
5. Pantry directors and/or staff will be asked to attend our monthly meetings, which are held on the first Thursday of every month at 9:30am in The Community Campus at Goodwill (408 9th St SW, Canton, OH 44707).
6. Submit monthly reports to the Stark County Hunger Task Force that include the latest monthly numbers, using your ACRFB member identification number on our required form.
7. Complete a yearly survey in order to identify and evaluate your pantry’s needs.

Download link for New Member Application

If you have any questions concerning applications for new pantries, or regarding general information on becoming a Stark County Hunger Task Force pantry, please do not hesitate to contact Stephanie Sweany, our Executive Director, via email at stephanie@starkhunger.org.