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When you need food
For anyone in the United States who doesn’t have enough to eat today or this week, and for the people helping them. Where to find free food near you, the words to say when you call, how to ask for SNAP fast, and help for babies, kids, older adults and people with no kitchen. Needing food is not a failure.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Call 211. It’s free and confidential. Ask for food pantries and free meals near you that are open today.
- Or call the USDA National Hunger Hotline, 1-866-348-6479 (1-866-3-HUNGRY), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.
- Or search: find your local food bank by zip code.
- Faint, confused or sick from not eating? Call 911. Too much to bear? Call or text 988, any hour.
More help
- In New York City? Our checked list of food pantries, soup kitchens and shelter, borough by borough.
- Might lose your home, or need changes to keep it? Ask for what helps you keep your home.
- Someone offering money, a job or a grant if you pay first? Is this a scam?
- Might not have signal? Save our tools on your phone.
- All our free tools and Get help now.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). The program facts come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s own pages, and the phone numbers and websites were checked on each service’s own site, in September 2026. Hours and rules change, so check with the service. This page saves nothing: no account, no cookies, nothing you tick is stored or sent, and no analytics (privacy). Scarlet Beast is not a government agency or a food bank and can’t give out food or benefits. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].