St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance

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St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance

Established	1967
Founder	John van Hengel
Type	Nonprofit 501(c)(3)
Focus	Hunger relief Food security
Location	2381 N 31st Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
President	Tom Kertis
Chairman	Marc Isaacs
Website	www.firstfoodbank.org

St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization located in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1967 by John van Hengel, St. Mary's was the first modern organization to operate using the food bank model, which spread throughout U.S. and the rest of the world. Today, St. Mary's is recognized as the world's first food bank.^[1]

Since its creation, St. Mary's has expanded its operations to nine of Arizona's fifteen counties,^[1] distributing millions of pounds of food to the hungry each year. St. Mary's also operates its own food pantry, allowing people to get food directly from the warehouse. The organization additionally offers specialized programs apart from food banking, including after-school programs for children and career training for adults.

St. Mary's is a member of Feeding America, a network of hunger-relief organizations also founded by van Hengel with the purpose of providing food to people across the country.^[2]