Federal cuts are straining food banks and pantries as demand grows.
[Mendham, NJ] – [October 13, 2025]: As federal cuts strain food banks and pantries across the U.S., a growing number of companies, schools, civic organizations and others are responding with a new type of food drive – designed to make it easy to raise healthy food.
#GiveHealthy has secured partnerships with food banks and pantries both in the Tri-State area and nationwide, making it easier than ever for groups to organize food drives that enable their communities to donate fresh, healthy food this holiday season.
Food banks and pantries like City Harvest, Feeding Westchester, CUMAC, Island Harvest, The Greater Food Bank of Boston, Wichita Falls Food Bank, Heart of Alabama Food Bank, Three Square and many more have adopted the #GiveHealthy digital food drive system to generate more food drive support. Organizations big and small are increasingly sponsoring #GiveHealthy food drives to drive engagement including Johnson and Johnson, Yale New Haven Health, Starwood Capital, Google, Marriott, and the United Way.
November is the peak of food drive season and one of the most critical months of the year for food banks and pantries. As families gather for Thanksgiving and the holiday season begins, millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and recent federal cuts to hunger relief programs have left food banks stretched thinner than ever.
Enter the #GiveHealthy digital food drive system – which is free and enables groups to quickly set up food drives designed to raise fresh produce and other healthy food to support their favorite food bank or pantry.
“In a year when food banks are being hit from every direction, rising food prices, funding cuts, and record demand, we make it incredibly easy to organize and donate to a drive with our new food drive model. Now, communities are able to step up in a new way to sponsor a food drive in just a couple of minutes,” said Patrick O’Neill, CEO of #GiveHealthy. “We see a growing number of food banks and pantries leaning into food drive support as a result of the drop in federal assistance.”
The Urgent Need This November
Federal reductions to food assistance programs like SNAP have forced millions of households to rely more heavily on food pantries and local food drives. At the same time, those same pantries are struggling with limited budgets, fewer donations, and higher operating costs.
The holiday season, when food insecurity peaks, has made it clearer than ever: communities must come together to support hunger relief organizations.
Unlike traditional food drives that collect mostly canned or boxed goods, #GiveHealthy allows food banks to choose exactly which food items they need and schedule when deliveries arrive, reducing waste and ensuring families receive nutritious, high-quality food.
Why This Matters
- Holiday Season Demand: Food banks report one of the highest need periods of the year during November and December.
- Federal Cuts: Reductions to SNAP and other assistance programs have left more families dependent on food banks.
- Healthy Food at Scale: For the first time, donors can easily give fresh produce, the most needed and most difficult item to source.
- Nationwide Expansion: Many prominent and large food banks and pantries have partnered with #GiveHealthy this year, marking national growth from the Tri-State region to coast-to-coast reach.
- Waste Reduction: Hunger relief organizations can control what’s donated and when it’s delivered, eliminating random or unusable donations.
“When food banks and pantries provide #GiveHealthy virtual food drives as an option for organizations and groups, it means thousands more families will receive healthy food this holiday season, not just shelf-stable items,” added O’Neill. “When healthy food reaches the families who need it most, we’re not just feeding people, we’re improving lives.”
This November, anyone can launch a free #GiveHealthy food drive and it only takes a couple of minutes to get started.
Visit givehealthy.org to get started and make a difference this holiday season.
About #GiveHealthy
The #GiveHealthy digital food drive platform makes sponsoring a food drive easy and impactful. Donors purchase healthy food online, and it’s shipped directly to the food bank or pantry after the drive. Visit GiveHealthy.org to learn more.
Media Contact:
Kayla O’Neill
Marketing Manager, #GiveHealthy
kayla@ampyourgood.com
