Food Pantry Use Is Surging, So Are the Risks

Food pantries across the United States experienced a surge in donations, volunteers, and guests in 2025.

More than 50 million people—or about 22 million households—turned to food aid organizations. Heading into 2026, economic uncertainty and shifts in grant programs mean food insecurity will remain a year-round concern.

As nonprofits handle more food, engage additional volunteers, and expand operations to meet growing demand, they naturally face increased exposure. Leaders of food banks and pantries are focused on sourcing donations, coordinating volunteers, and serving their communities, leaving limited time for risk management. As demand increases, many food aid organizations are carrying more risk than they may fully recognize.

Meanwhile, underwriters across the insurance industry are taking additional steps to understand whether food aid organizations are prepared to operate at capacity. In some cases, coverage considerations—and even premiums—can be influenced by the pounds or value of donated food, meaning increased activity can eventually affect costs if risks aren’t properly managed.

Nonprofits providing food aid often require coverage that goes beyond standard property and liability policies, including protection for food handling, storage, and volunteer involvement. By helping food pantries and food banks understand and manage their total cost of risk, the insurance industry can play a critical role in protecting these organizations from a number of evolving exposures.

Food Safety

Federal and state governments set guidelines for donated food, with the 1996 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act cited most often. The federal law outlines when nonprofit organizations are protected from liability for accepting donations in good faith. Still, nonprofits must meet food quality and labeling standards—especially if a donor acknowledges deficiencies and the nonprofit agrees to recondition the items and has the knowledge to do so properly.

State food quality and labeling standards can include proper ingredient and allergen labeling, adherence to expiration or “use by” dates, and safe storage and temperature controls.

Unlike grocery stores or restaurants with dedicated staff and industrial equipment, nonprofits often rely on donated food in varying conditions, operating with limited space and inexperienced volunteers. These factors can create inconsistencies in food handling that increase exposure and liability, including foodborne illness due to improper storage, expired products, or contamination; equipment breakdown to refrigerators or freezers; and food spoilage from equipment malfunctions, delayed distribution, or improper handling.

With more food donations coming through nonprofit operations at higher, often unplanned volumes—and during times when they’re beyond capacity— the likelihood of exposure to those losses increases.

In response, insurers are looking more closely at how to address these risks by tailoring endorsements and limits to reflect today’s scale, speed, and operational strain rather than the steadier donation patterns of the past. This can include:

1. Refrigerated food spoilage coverage can help protect nonprofits following a refrigeration failure in which losses can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for large food banks or meal programs with perishable food.
2. Property endorsements for food spoilage can offer extended protection beyond a standard property policy if spoilage occurs due to an off-premises power failure, such as public utility outages from a storm, rather than the nonprofit’s equipment mechanical failure. This type of endorsement can provide anywhere from tens of thousands to $100,000 in coverage.
3. Multiperil general liability coverage for foodborne illness is critical for nonprofits since their “products” are often meals delivered to people. A multiperil policy can help protect against food poisoning or other cases of product liability.
4. Freezer and refrigeration equipment coverage helps offset repair or replacement costs when cooling equipment fails or breaks down. Nonprofits often face breakdowns from heavy, continuous use and outdated equipment due to limited funding.

Volunteer Safety

As donations and guests increase, so does the need for volunteers, bringing unique risks compared to paid, trained employees in for-profit businesses. Volunteers often have less consistent training and oversight, which can lead to accidents or errors.

Today, with reduced and uncertain government funding, many food banks and pantries are operating short-staffed and with fewer dedicated resources for training and oversight. As a result, organizations rely more heavily on volunteers to keep operations moving— often during periods of peak demand. When volunteers are brought on quickly out of necessity,

there may be limited time for proper training on safety, food handling, and equipment use. This shift in the operating environment can increase the likelihood of injuries and mishandling, adding greater complexity to exposures, compared to more predictable, well-resourced operations of the past.

Volunteers may not be covered by workers compensation, yet their actions may introduce unforeseen liability exposures, making it imperative for food pantries to explore coverages and risk control measures for accidents and wrongful act claims. Among these resources:

1. Volunteer waivers are a powerful tool for limiting liability. A well-crafted waiver should clearly state that volunteers aren’t covered by workers compensation, while also outlining their responsibilities, acknowledging potential hazards, and releasing the organization from ordinary negligence. While waivers don’t prevent lawsuits, pairing them with documented training gives nonprofits a stronger defense if legal action arises.
2. Management liability coverage can help protect food pantries and leaders—including volunteers—from allegations of wrongful acts. Food pantries often rely on volunteers in key leadership roles, and their decisions can expose both the organization and a volunteer’s personal assets to lawsuits alleging errors, misleading statements, breaches of duty, or misuse of funds or authority. This coverage can help safeguard personal assets and cover legal costs, allowing leaders to focus on serving their communities.
3. Hired and non-owned auto insurance is critical as food programs expand to delivery services for homebound individuals. Few sectors rely more on unpaid volunteer drivers and personal vehicles than food pantries and meal delivery services, which create liability beyond a traditional commercial auto policy. This coverage protects food pantries from financial losses and lawsuits related to accidents, injuries, or property damage caused when volunteers drive their own vehicles during donation pickups or deliveries.

Cybersecurity

As digital donations grow, food pantries face backlash from rising fraud—particularly criminals creating fake or look-alike organizations to fool well-meaning donors. Instead of targeting the organization, these schemes target the public, rerouting charitable gifts to bad actors. The result can cause reputational damage and negatively influence future donations.

While cybercriminals often exploit the goodwill of charitable giving rather than using traditional tactics aimed at for-profit businesses, the impact is similar: operational disruption, financial loss, and reputational damage. Their coverage needs are fundamentally similar, but conversations with food pantries must be different.

Making the case for cyber liability coverage is the priority. Generally, cyber risks remain one of the most overlooked exposures in the nonprofit sector, which can lead to a lower uptake in cyber liability coverage compared to for-profit businesses. This can leave many nonprofits increasingly exposed to the costs of data breaches, ransomware, and operational disruption. Given the nature of a food pantry’s work, many overlook their real cybersecurity risks, assuming they aren’t targets because they lack the large funds or assets of a traditional business. However, their donor data, payment systems, and frequent interactions with community partners make them just as vulnerable. As an industry, we must clearly explain these exposures and the financial impacts to show why cyber insurance is becoming essential even for small community programs.

It’s also critical for food pantries to ensure their cyber insurance limits reflect realistic exposures. These include revenue loss, additional expenses from operational downtime, extortion, data restoration needs, and potential reputational damage. We can help review these factors, so coverage aligns with the financial and operational impact of a cyber incident.

For food pantries, every resource matters. We can be the resource that offers them peace of mind—from preventing significant losses to making sure they have the coverage needed to serve their communities with confidence.