Help
Hungry right now?
Call 211, any hour, free and confidential. A specialist searches the statewide database with you and can tell you about places we have not catalogued. You can also text ALFOOD to 898211.
The Today page lists the pantries open any hour — self-serve cupboards where nobody checks anything.
How to use this site
- Today — what is open today, plus the always-open cupboards.
- This week — every scheduled distribution in the next 14 days, day by day.
- Find food — the full list, with filters for your town, the day, and what you need to bring. Sorting by distance is optional and stays in your browser.
- Map — the same places on a map. Pins with a dashed ring are approximate.
What the badges mean
- Open to anyone
- Every requirement we track — appointment, referral, ID, proof of residency, proof of income — is confirmed not required.
- Bring paperwork
- At least one document is required: ID, a lease or utility bill, or proof of income. The listing says which.
- Appointment needed
- Call or book online first. Showing up unannounced usually does not work.
- Referral required
- Another agency (a school counsellor, church, or 211) must send you. Ask them to make the call.
- Apply and be approved
- You fill out an application and are approved before receiving food.
- Rules not confirmed — call first
- No source says what is required. That is not the same as “nothing required”. Call before you go.
- Open now
- Shown only when a published time window is happening right now, from sources that agree, and no appointment or referral stands in the way.
What to bring, if you are not sure
If a listing says “call first” and you cannot call, bringing these covers most pantries in the county:
- Photo ID for yourself
- Something with your current address — a lease, a utility bill, or a piece of mail
- Names and birthdates of everyone in your household
- Bags or a box; drive-throughs usually load your trunk
Arrive early. Mobile pantries hand food out while supplies last, and lines often form before the start time.
Report a change
Every listing has a “Report what you found” form near the bottom. Use it to say the hours were different, you were asked for paperwork we did not list, food ran out, the address was wrong, or the place has closed.
A volunteer reads every report. Nothing you write is published as written, and no listing is changed until someone confirms with the provider. If you tell us a place has closed, that report goes to the top of the queue.
Prefer to talk to someone? Call 211 and tell them what you found — they maintain their own database too.
Run a pantry?
If your organisation is listed and something is wrong, use the report form on your listing and tick “I am the provider” in your note, or point us to your public page or Facebook post that states the current schedule. We cite public sources, so a dated post on your own page is the fastest way to get a correction through. If you are not listed, tell 211 and the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama; we pick up their records.
Referring someone?
Each listing page prints to one clean sheet: hours, requirements, address, phone and the sources. Use your browser's print command. The This week page is a good handout too.
Sources last researched 2026-09-08. See how we know this and our privacy notes.