How To Get Food From A Food Bank

Get on your feet

Finding the right resources can mean the difference between barely getting by – and moving forward with your life. Here, you'll find details on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility, as well as information about the Food Bank's Mobile Pantry program.

To findNebraska food locations, please call the Food Bank at1-855-444-5556.
To find Iowa food locations, please call the Food Bank at 1-855-944-3663.

View the USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the food stamp program. Our program helps eligible citizens across Nebraska and Iowa who meet the stringent requirements apply for this valuable nutrition assistance.

SNAP Outreach is a cooperative effort through Food Bank for the Heartland, Food Bank of Lincoln and the Iowa Food Bank Association. It is made possible through grant funding from the Walmart Foundation, Telligen Community Initiative and Feeding America. Outreach specialists helped 13,609 Nebraska households and 11,908 Iowa households receive benefits. Our team completed nearly 2,500 P-EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer) applications in 76 Nebraska counties from June 22 to July 19, 2020. The team continues to work tirelessly to help families navigate the evolving eligibility requirements and application process for SNAP benefits.

From March 2020 to March 2021, our SNAP team, including network partners and Department of Corrections, completed 13,908 SNAP and/or P-EBT applications in Nebraska and 12,600 SNAP applications in Iowa.

To find out if you are eligible, please visit: www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility.

Apply for SNAP Benefits
To apply for SNAP benefits, please contact a SNAP coordinator. We will walk you through the application process, help you determine if you or your family meet the income guidelines for food assistance and provide information about using the SNAP EBT card.

Nebraska Application

If you are a Nebraska resident, please fill out the application above or contact Nebraska SNAP Outreach at
1-855-444-5556.

Iowa Application

If you are an Iowa resident, please fill out the application above or contact Iowa Food Assistance Outreach at1-855-944-3663.

Become a SNAP Outreach Partner

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps low-income individuals and families buy the food they need for good health. Unfortunately, about one-third of the eligible population does not take advantage of this benefit. Food Bank for the Heartland's goal is to increase participation in Nebraska by helping eligible people to access this valuable nutrition assistance benefit.

How can you get involved?

Distribute SNAP materials provided by Food Bank for the Heartland
Host a SNAP event to sign up clients for benefits
Partner with Food Bank for the Heartland as a permanent access site
Volunteer as a SNAP office assistant at Food Bank for the Heartland

Your partnership with Food Bank for the Heartland will have a positive economic impact in your local community. For more information, please contact Natalie Nelson, SNAP Direct Service Manager, at 402.905.4813.

To apply for volunteer opportunities in Nebraska, please visit: Nebraska SNAP Volunteer.
To apply for volunteer opportunities in Iowa, please visit: Iowa Food Assistance Volunteer.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

Mobile Pantry

The Mobile Pantry program delivers food directly to communities that have a high need but limited food resources. The one-day distribution is free for individuals and families and may include fresh produce, bakery goods, dairy products, meat and various shelf-stable items.

In FY 2020, the Food Bank's Mobile Pantry program distributed 4.4 million meals to approximately 73,397 households in need across Nebraska and western Iowa.

If you are looking for food assistance, please view the list of upcoming mobile pantries. You may also call 2-1-1 or go to United Way for the Midlands. 2-1-1 is a United Way help-line that connects individuals with a pantry and other emergency assistance close to their homes.

If you are an agency partner or community organization wishing to host a mobile pantry, please contact Lea Franck, Manager of Network and Community Supports, at 402.315.2557.

Mobile Pantry Calendar: November 2021

There is a diverse need here. At Tabitha's Thread, we have worked hard to build trust in the community, which allows us to have better conversations about the needs our families face. We want to connect them with the necessary resources.
– Rachel Austin, Director of Tabitha's Thread Ministry in Weeping Water, Nebraska

Feed our kids

One in five children in Nebraska and western Iowa under the age of 18 is at risk for hunger. Food Bank for the Heartland partners with organizations throughout the region to provide programs and resources designed to help kids stay fed, healthy and happy. Learn more about the Mobile BackPack and BackPack Programs, Kids Cafe and Kids Cruisin' Kitchen below.

Mobile BackPack and BackPack Programs

After schools in the Omaha metro closed due to COVID-19 in March 2020, Food Bank for the Heartland worked with local school officials and other partners to identify gaps in service and swiftly coordinated and launched the Mobile BackPack program. This program offered free meal bags to children. Each bag contained five breakfast servings and five lunch servings, including fresh milk and produce.

The Mobile BackPack program ran from March 20 to August 7, 2020 and served 421,175 critical children's meals. During the pandemic, we have distributed 1.63 million Mobile BackPack and traditional BackPack meals to children.

Some schools in communities outside the Omaha metro continued receiving traditional BackPack meals for children throughout the spring and summer in 2020. The Food Bank's conventional BackPack program resumed for most schools when the school year began last fall. Currently, we are distributing 8,464 packs every week to children in 256 schools across 112 school districts in Nebraska and western Iowa. Each meal pack is assembled by dedicated volunteers at the Food Bank.

The BackPack program has always been important but especially this year. I've never had more students request food. They are thrilled and relieved to know they will have meals to eat over the weekend. Kids can fix the food themselves if their parents are working, and the items are shelf stable. I'm grateful to Food Bank for the Heartland for this program. Without it, I don't know what some of our students would do.
– Debi Jaeke, Counselor, Omaha Public Schools

To learn more about the BackPack program, please contact Megan Burton, Community & Partner Support Manager. For sponsorship information, please contact Kelly Ptacek, Vice President of External Affairs, at 402.905.4808.

View a list of schools participating in the Backpack program.

Kids Cafe

Kids Cafe is one of the nation's largest free-meal service programs for at-risk children. Kids Cafe serves evening meals to children in partnership with community organizations that offer a safe environment after school.

Currently, the Food Bank provides meals for 11 Kids Cafe sites around the Omaha metro area. The Kids Cafe program serves over 3,465 meals each week. The Food Bank works with the following organizations to provide Kids Cafe locations:

All Saint Catholic Church/Completely Kids
Boys and Girls Club Council Bluffs
Completely Kids St Mary's
Hope Center for Kids
Lydia House
North Star
Salvation Army North Crops.
St Luke's Teen Center
Girls Inc. – Emma Lozier Center
Girls Inc. – Katherine Fletcher Center
Upward Bound Citylight

For information on starting a Kids Cafe, please contact Allison Oberg, Child Hunger Programs Coordinator.

Kids Cruisin' Kitchen

While their classmates are swimming and playing outdoors during summer vacation, thousands of Nebraska children worry about finding their next meal. The summer months are especially difficult for children at-risk for hunger and their families. Approximately forty-five percent of children receive free or reduced school lunches and are seeking other resources for meals when school is out of session.

To combat the epidemic of childhood hunger, the Food Bank and the Omaha Salvation Army collaborate during the summer for the Kids Cruisin' Kitchen (KCK) program which serves hot, nutritious meals free of charge at the places where children live and play. Four food trucks travel to 16 sites across the Omaha metro area providing thousands of meals to kids in need. KCK operates June 3 through August 8 during the weekdays. In 2018, KCK served over 82,786 meals. Funding for KCK comes from the Nebraska Department of Education and the Leland and Dorothy Olson Foundation. For information about Kids Cruisin' Kitchen, please contact Allison Oberg, Child Hunger Programs Coordinator.