Programs that acquire food products through donations, canned food drives, food bank programs or direct purchase and distribute the food to people who are in emergency situations. Some pantries deliver food to people whose disabilities or illnesses make it difficult for them to leave home.

Programs sponsored in many communities by local food banks that distribute directly to clients who are unable to obtain adequate amounts of healthy food, particularly to people who live in low-income communities without reasonable access to a traditional food pantry as well as to college campuses where hunger among students is a growing problem. With the ability to travel, mobile food pantries can address food insecurity where it exists while finding homes for fresh, perishable food items including produce, grains, meat and dairy products before their shelf life expires and they go to waste. Mobile pantry agencies (generally churches or local nonprofits) may borrow an available parking lot (e.g., a school's lot after hours), and after scheduling a mobile pantry distribution with their sponsoring food bank, they can leaflet the neighborhood or take other steps to announce to potential clients when and where the distribution will take place. When the food arrives at the distribution site, a temporary station is set up to allow participants to walk up or drive through to select desired food or receive a pre-packaged box or bag. Clients may fill out short questionnaires or go through brief interviews to participate. When the event is over, the volunteers load any leftovers back in the vehicle, leaving the parking lot as clean as it was when they arrived.