Gainesville Free Grocery Store

06/01/2026

Free Grocery Story has an additional new location!

Starting in June, we'll only be doing the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Civic Media Center, and the second walkup pantry will now be the LAST Thursday of the month at Cone Park Branch Library.

Spread the word and keep an eye out for volunteer sign up links!

05/07/2026

We need your help staffing our delivery pantry this week! Sorting, packing and delivery driving shifts are available for sign-up for May 8.
Sorting shifts at 2-3 pm, packing is 3-4:30, and driving shifts are between 4:15-5:30 pm. For driving, you need to have a reliable vehicle with room to hold 4-7 boxes/bags of food. No previous experience is required for any of our roles! Just arrive at the and we’ll teach you anything you need to know! Sign up link is in our bio! Please DM us if you have any questions.

02/18/2026

Free Grocery Store and Food Not Bombs are co-hosting a Chili Cook-Off fundraiser on Sunday, March 8, from 12-3 PM at .how.bazar !
Sample all kinds of chili, cooked by chefs from our community! Vote for your favorite recipes, and the winners will be crowned by the Royal Bean Council 👑 🫘 ALL competitors will receive a prize ✨
Want to compete? Fill out our interest form by Feb. 27! We’ll reach out to all confirmed competitors by March 2. All chili recipes welcome!
This event is FREE to attend! Come learn about & ✨ To try the chili, we’ll have sampling tickets available for purchase at the door, on a sliding scale. No one will be turned away for lack of funds! We’ll have merch for sale and plenty of free community resources. We’ll also be accepting donations from our wishlist for upcoming food distributions.

This event is a fundraiser for our groups. All money will be split between FGS and FNB to put toward our ongoing efforts to feed our community!

Access info: This is an indoor/outdoor event. Chili will be served indoors and you can eat inside or outside. All chefs and volunteers are required to wear masks and gloves during this event. We will also have an air purifier inside running throughout the event. Masks provided and highly encouraged. Let’s protect each other!
We need volunteers to help us staff this event!
Head to gnvfgs.org/events for more info, or to sign up as a chef or volunteer.

02/17/2026

Get some free groceries at our pantry on Tuesday, February 24: Sign-up begins at 1:30 PM and the pantry opens around 3 PM at the Civic Media Center (433 S. Main St. Gainesville). No ID or proof-of-address required. Always FREE, and always you-pick your own groceries. We will run until 5:30 PM, while supplies last.

We’re also accepting dry food and pantry donations! Check out our requests slide for what people are asking for. Drop off your food donations at the Working Food community center at 219 NW 10th Ave on Feb. 18 from 10a-4p to donate sealed, non-expired, shelf-stable food items. Food will then be transported to the CMC for the pantry.

Help us staff the pantry if you have time, too! We are completely volunteer-run.
How the pantry operates: Arrive at the outside courtyard to get a number and wait to be called inside the CMC. Bags provided, but feel free to also bring your own. Supplies vary from each pantry, but we typically have a variety of fresh produce (some of it grown locally!), bread/pastries and non-perishable food items.

We allow a limited number of people inside the space to help encourage air flow and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We also run an air purifier inside the space and require everyone wear a mask (masks are provided). Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs (DM or email us).

02/04/2026

sharing from Backontrack Gainesville! upcoming free food pantry on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 5220 SW 13th St in Gainesville!

02/03/2026

Get some free groceries at our pantry on Tuesday, February 10: Sign-up begins at 1:30 PM and the pantry opens around 3 PM at the Civic Media Center (433 S. Main St. Gainesville). No ID or proof-of-address required. Always FREE, and always you-pick your own groceries. We will run until 5:30 PM, while supplies last.

We’re also accepting dry food and pantry donations! Check out our requests slide for what people are asking for. Drop off your food donations at the Working Food community center at 219 NW 10th Ave on Feb. 4 from 10a-4p to donate sealed, non-expired, shelf-stable food items. Food will then be transported to the CMC for the pantry.

Help us staff the pantry if you have time, too! We are completely volunteer-run.
How the pantry operates: Arrive at the outside courtyard to get a number and wait to be called inside the CMC. Bags provided, but feel free to also bring your own. Supplies vary from each pantry, but we typically have a variety of fresh produce (some of it grown locally!), bread/pastries and non-perishable food items.

We allow a limited number of people inside the space to help encourage air flow and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We also run an air purifier inside the space and require everyone wear a mask (masks are provided). Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs (DM or email us).

02/01/2026

Today’s volunteer meeting has been moved inside to the Civic Media Center (433 S Main. St) due to the cold weather ❤️

we’re starting monthly volunteer meetings starting in February. Join us on the first Sunday of the month, at 1:00 PM at McRorie Community Garden (615 SE 4th Av.). These meetings are open to anyone wanting to get involved with Free Grocery Store (FGS) in any capacity. We’ll share upcoming events & projects and answer any questions you may have. Bring your ideas and feedback. FGS is completely run by community members: let’s build food systems owned by the people they serve. There are many ways to contribute outside of staffing a pantry! We hope to see you there.

If able, please bring a blanket or chair to sit on. We will try to set up a folding table as well!

Access info:
- This will be an in-person meeting only. If you are unable to attend in person, send us a message or email and we’ll send more info and coordinate time to talk!
- McRorie is an outside space with grassy areas. The ground is mostly firm but soft.
- There is plenty of parking nearby and right next to the garden. The Rosa Parks transfer station is 0.3 miles away from the garden.

Image description: background is white with a repeating pattern of red/orange apples edited to be monochromatic. there are 6 apples across and 6 apples down, each one rotated about 90 degrees. on the foreground is handwritten text in black.

01/27/2026

we’re starting monthly volunteer meetings starting in February. Join us on the first Sunday of the month, at 1:00 PM at McRorie Community Garden (615 SE 4th Av.). These meetings are open to anyone wanting to get involved with Free Grocery Store (FGS) in any capacity. We’ll share upcoming events & projects and answer any questions you may have. Bring your ideas and feedback. FGS is completely run by community members: let’s build food systems owned by the people they serve. There are many ways to contribute outside of staffing a pantry! We hope to see you there.

If able, please bring a blanket or chair to sit on. We will try to set up a folding table as well!

Access info:
- This will be an in-person meeting only. If you are unable to attend in person, send us a message or email and we’ll send more info and coordinate time to talk!
- McRorie is an outside space with grassy areas. The ground is mostly firm but soft.
- There is plenty of parking nearby and right next to the garden. The Rosa Parks transfer station is 0.3 miles away from the garden.

Image description: background is white with a repeating pattern of red/orange apples edited to be monochromatic. there are 6 apples across and 6 apples down, each one rotated about 90 degrees. on the foreground is handwritten text in black.

01/16/2026

We are looking for alternate locations to host our food pantries this year! Please comment any venues you think might be a good fit for us! Ideally, it would be a climate-controlled indoor venue with plenty of room for seating.

01/11/2026

our meeting today (Jan. 11) is postponed until later this month! have a safe sunday 🥦