Providing food for Pierce County’s most vulnerable citizens since 2009
Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank provides quality food to the communities of East and South Tacoma, Washington. Ahndrea, our founder, was concerned about the children in these communities who were not eating on a regular basis due to their families experiencing economic hardship. Without government assistance, Ahndrea began delivering food to her tenants in this area.This is how the foundation for Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank began. The food bank is named after Ahndrea’s grandmother Eloise. Eloise was a woman of humble means, but would generously share whatever food she had by providing a hot meal to anyone who was in need.
Need food? Find us at . . .
Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank
3543 E. McKinley Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98404
Open Hours
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Want to volunteer?
Call: (253)-426-1994
Recent Statistics
As of 2021, Eloise’s Cooking Pot…
Served over 295,449 clients (more than 99,564 households)
Distributed over 8 million pounds of food
Served over 1.5 million meals
Eloise’s Cooking Pot is the largest independent food bank and the #1 food delivery service in Pierce County!
We Also Offer
Eloise’s Cooking Pot also provides professional cooked meals to the homeless. On every fifth Sunday, Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank, along with a local executive Chef and volunteers prepare a hot meal and serve over 100 clients, staff, and volunteers of the Matt Talbot Center located in Seattle, Washington.
Other Programs
ECP Food Bank Drop-in Site: offers prepackaged and fresh, organically grown food that help people experiencing hunger sustain a well-balanced diet during hard economic times. It is open five days a week for six hours each day. Hygiene products, baby supplies, household items, and pet supplies are also made available.
Home Delivery Services: provided to elderly or disabled homebound residents in subsidized housing who cannot come to the food bank due to medical, transportation, and safety issues. People who receive home delivery also receive other non-food items as needed, including hygiene supplies, household products, and pet food.
The Nurturer program: teaches replication of healthy shopping, cooking, and eating practices using fresh, nutritious food. Eight classes are offered a year with each class having a different theme/topic/recipe. The cooking classes empower clients of all ages with tools and resources to prepare healthy and delicious food on a budget.
Blair’s Sanctuary Garden: a special place for women veterans to raise organic, healthy food for our community while gaining peace, acceptance, and serenity. Women veterans are accepted without judgment while participating in an environment of peace and harmony, while also learning about growing food organically and sustainable crop management. The fresh fruits and vegetables they grow are used at the food bank.
Transitions Backpack Program: gives homeless youth and adults a backpack loaded with on-the-go food, beverages, a can opener, and hygiene items. Homeless clients can come to the food bank every day it’s opened for food and other necessities.
Children’s Snack/Literacy Program: We provide healthy snacks to children that come to the food bank, as well as at tutorial and after-school programs throughout Pierce County.
Herb Garden: We have our own garden that provides a stable, internal source of fresh food and herbs for our clients.
Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway: provides over 700 Thanksgiving meal boxes to those in need in Pierce County each year. These boxes are filled with all the traditional holiday trimmings needed for a family of four.
Annual Christmas Cookie Party: each year, MADF hosts a Christmas cookie decorating party for the students of Willard Early Learning Center, complete with a visit from Santa Clause, Mrs. Clause, and their elves.
Tacoma School District Partnership: makes fresh, healthy food accessible to students in the Tacoma School District through on-campus food pantries and after-school programs.
Special Outreach Efforts: proactively offers the items from our food bank to our vulnerable Latinx and Russian community members who can’t come to our brick and mortar food bank.
Local Church Partnerships: provides several local churches’ members with items from our foodbank including fresh food, hygiene supplies, household products, and pet food.
Local Apartment Complex Partnerships: Eloise’s maintains partnerships with several local apartment complexes, where we supply elderly and disabled residents with provisions from our foodbank including food, hygiene supplies, household products, and pet food.
Pop-Up Food Banks: temporary food banks hosted at various local churches, festivals, and other events, offering those in need a selection of food and other non-food essentials from Eloise’s Cooking Pot.
Food Drive Hosting: With over 120,000 people served in Pierce County, Eloise’s Cooking Pot is a food bank that provides local organizations and individuals with the opportunity to collect food that they know will contribute to eliminating hunger for families in the community.