FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
For Home Delivery we deliver to Tacoma, University Place, Parkland, Spanaway, Lakewood, Puyallup, Fife, Federal Way, Algona, and Pacific. We also deliver to JBLM.
If you would no longer like to receive your home delivery for any reason go to our home delivery page and scroll down until you find “Update or Remove Your Home Delivery Information.”
If you would like to request weekly home grocery delivery you can apply here.
Yes you can donate! Simply bring the food to the food bank during open hours and a staff member will collect it from you. Note, donations must not be expired.
There are no requirements to get food from the food bank. All you have to do come to the food bank, wait in line, and fill out a clipboard with some brief information.
Yes. We are currently taking on new delivery routes in light of the current Coronavirus pandemic. You can apply for delivery here.
Yes, we do accept donations of housewares/home goods in new or like-new condition with their original packaging.
No. For organizational purposes, we rely on our volunteers being present for the duration of each available time slot. Exceptions are occasionally made.
If you can’t sign up through the VolunteerUp portal, call our office at (253) 212-2778 and a member of our staff will sign you up manually.
Yes. Your volunteer hours at Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank constitute community service hours.
Children aged 16 or younger (even when accompanied by an adult) can only come to morning shifts between 8:00 AM & 12:00 PM.
You can sign up for a shift here.
Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank is very accessible through public transportation. Directions for getting to Eloise’s Cooking Pot by bus can be found here.
In the event of inclement weather (heavy snow, frozen roads, flooding or fire), Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank will operate or cancel service according to official Tacoma School District closures. Read our full inclement weather policy here.
We’re located at 3543 E McKinley Ave, Tacoma, WA 98404.
Clients must be at the food bank no less than 15 minutes before we close each day. If there is a line, you will be served as long as you’re present to sign yourself in at least 15 minutes before closing.
We serve residents of all zip codes! It doesn’t matter where you live – if you show up to Eloise’s you will be served.
For Home Delivery we deliver to Tacoma, University Place, Parkland, Spanaway, Lakewood, Puyallup, Fife, Federal Way, Algona, and Pacific.
Yes. If they come to shop for themselves, they can shop for you and/or your family directly afterward (no need for them to wait in line twice). They’ll just sign you and/or your family in at the same time as they sign themselves in when they get in line.
You don’t need to bring anything to receive service at Eloise’s Cooking Pot – this is the community’s food bank! The only thing we ask that you bring with you is reusable shopping bags so that we can allocate more of our budget toward food instead of plastic grocery bags (plus it’s better for the environment).
We weigh each client’s groceries to keep track of how much food we give, relative to what we bring in. By keeping track of our inventory, we’re able to make sure that we have enough food for everyone each week. The weight we record isn’t at all tied to the client; we don’t keep track of how much food each client picks up.
The wait-time in line is typically no more than 20 minutes – we’re always working on making it faster!
You can come to the food bank and get food every day that we’re open! There is no limit. Since we’re open 5 days/week, you can come 5 times/week (that’s 20 times each month).
Yes. If you come to shop for yourself, you can shop for another individual or family directly afterward (no need to wait in line twice). You’ll just sign the other person or family in at the same time as you sign yourself in when you get in line.