The St. Louis Area Foodbank is the largest nonprofit food distribution organization in the bi-state St. Louis region. From its facility in Bridgeton it serves 26 counties across eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois, working through a network of more than 560 partner agencies and reaching tens of thousands of people every week. Meredith Knopp has led it as President and CEO since 2021. It holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating with a perfect score.
The St. Louis Area Foodbank sources food at scale and distributes it across the bi-state region through more than 560 partner agencies, supplemented by its own programs, from its 96,000-square-foot facility in Bridgeton. The bi-state footprint, spanning the Missouri-Illinois line, reflects how the St. Louis metro crosses state borders, and the food bank coordinates with other local organizations to cover the region without overlap.
Meredith Knopp became President and CEO in 2021. She leads the food bank from its Bridgeton hub, which doubles as a volunteer center and a hunger-education and engagement center. Under her, the organization holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating with a perfect score, the top mark the rater gives.
The service area covers 26 counties across eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois, anchored by metropolitan St. Louis. It mixes the urban core with suburban and rural counties on both sides of the Mississippi River, each with its own pattern of need. The food bank reaches tens of thousands of people every week.
Yes. The St. Louis Area Foodbank is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member with a four-star Charity Navigator rating and a perfect 100 percent score. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through stlfoodbank.org. The Bridgeton facility runs a large volunteer operation, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
The St. Louis Area Foodbank is the broad regional food bank for the bi-state St. Louis metro, while Operation Food Search also serves the St. Louis area with a focus on direct distribution and nutrition, and Harvesters covers the Kansas City region on the other side of the state. For anyone in the St. Louis area, this is the central food bank.
560+ agencies across 26 bi-state counties.
Food brought into underserved communities.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food assistance for older adults on fixed incomes.
Sources: St. Louis Area Foodbank website (stlfoodbank.org), Charity Navigator and GuideStar (EIN 43-1253102), and DHR Global on the appointment of Meredith Knopp. We are not affiliated with St. Louis Area Foodbank and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More Missouri and food-bank resources