Comfort & Joy

Get Involved

If you’re in need this holiday season, find out more about Freestore Food Bank’s services at freestorefoodbank.org.

Freestore Foodbank’s Liberty Street Market will be open though Dec. 23, with all the fixings for the traditional holiday meal available.

If you can’t make it to the Liberty Street Market, you can go to any of the Freestore Foodbank’s pantry network partners and receive food and assistance there. For more information click here.

Families across the country will soon gather around the table for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa – Gobbling up turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and all of those delicious side dishes.

But many are struggling, including many right here in the Tristate. CEO Kurt Reiber says Freestore Foodbank currently helps between 300 to 350 families a day.

“Most of the families we serve are working,” says Reiber. “They’re just not making enough to make ends meet between now and the end of the year, or month.”

To help, Freestore Food Bank continues its annual food distribution, which started in November and continues through the end of the year.

Shoppers can push their shopping carts through the aisles at the Liberty Street Market in Over-the-Rhine, and pick whatever they need for that holiday meal.

“When families come in here, they get their fixings for the holiday meal – they get their stuffing, soup mix, they get mac and cheese, all those comfort foods we sort of rally around..” Says Reiber.

To supply food for families, the Freestore Foodbank works with partner agencies but also buys some of the groceries. Now, the food bank is buying more food than they have in past years.

“When you think about the Thanksgiving meal, last year it went up about 14 percent. This year, they’re talking about the typical meal going up 28 percent,” says Reiber. “When you add all those things together, plus, the cost of transportation. It’s really exacerbated the impact of these inflationary pressures on our families and the entire Tristate area.”