On November 1, 1983, under the leadership of the food bank’s first Executive Director, Michael Wright the first shipment of food weighing 26,232 pounds arrived from the Erie Community Food Bank (now, Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA.)

On November 7, 1983, St. Paul’s Catholic Center (Prince of Peace Center) placed the first food order with the CFWSV.

In its first full year of service, the food bank distributed 35,000 pounds of food to eight member agencies.

In 1984, CFWSV became a partner food bank of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization and expanded its reach to agencies serving Greenville, Grove City, Jamestown, Mercer and Stoneboro.

Also in 1984, the food bank purchased a cargo van through the generosity of the O’Brien Children’s Foundation which would be used to pick up donated food. Freezer and refrigeration units were purchased through donated funds from Westinghouse Electric and finally to perform the day-to-day operation, CFWSV became computerized with a grant from Apple Computers.

In 1986, after having operated three years within the Sharon Hearld, the food bank moved to a new home in a former bank building located at 821 Broadway Ave (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) in Farrell thanks to the First National Bank of Mercer County. With this new space and services growing it became apparent the food bank needed a way to streamline everyday tasks and thanks to Grove City College students, funds were raised that provided the warehouse with the means to acquire an electric forklift to assist with distribution efforts.

In the mid 90’s, the food bank hit its first major barrier when Peter J Schmidt ceased operation, leaving the food bank without a source of donated transportation. Two local companies, Dean’s Dairy and B-Line Trucking heard of the obstacle the food bank was now facing and stepped up to provide transportation.

In 2006, Michael Wright officially ended his more than two-decade tenure with the food bank and was replaced by Lori Weston as the second Executive Director of the food bank.

In 2008, the food bank received a grant from the Lincy Foundation for its first 14-foot refrigerated truck, which enabled the food bank to launch its store donation program, bringing in thousands of pounds of donated frozen and refrigerated products.

In 2009, after years of continued growth and a building in need of costly repairs, local community members Paul O’Brien and Larry Haynes set out to find the food bank a new home. This search led them to the Greenwood Group who they worked with to ultimately donate the current building that houses the food bank today. With a building secured, the Shenango Valley Foundation spearheaded a capital campaign on behalf of the food bank to renovate the space.

In 2010, thanks to the guidance and assistance of the Shenango Valley Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Western PA and Eastern OH, the food bank moved into its current space (109 S. Sharpsville Avenue) in Sharon and changed its name to Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County. This newly renovated space included a brand-new cooler and freezer triple the size of the previous one and provided an additional 10,000 square feet of dry storage space, enabling the food bank to now accept truckloads of food.

With the new space, the food bank was able to expand programming to include Pa Senior Food Box (CSFP), BackPack, MilitaryShare, Harvest Helpings, and Fill-A-Glass with Hope.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca Page was hired as the third Executive Director and the food bank distributed a record 1.7 million pounds of food.

In 2021, two additional programs were added to meet the increased need for food assistance amongst our neighbors —Mobile Pantry and Myron’s Meal Mobile.

In 2023, the food bank acquired its first 24-foot truck and experienced its highest distribution to date, 2.6 million pounds of food.

In 2024, the food bank rebranded to become Mercer County Food Bank to differentiate its work from that of their network of agencies that has grown to include nearly 40 non-profit member agencies who have a shared mission of feeding our neighbors.

Mercer County Food Bank belongs to you – the community – who have supported us over the years with your time, talent, and treasure. From all of us here at MCFB we offer you a heartfelt thank you and it is our sincere hope that you continue this journey with us to starve hunger and feed hope in Mercer County. Click here to learn about more about ways to to Get INVOLVED.