USDA National Hunger Hotline

U.S. Department of Agriculture (operated by Hunger Free America)

FREE SERVICE

What this actually is

A free phone line that will find you food today. Call 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and a person will look up emergency food providers, meal sites, food banks and benefit programs near where you actually are. You can also text 914-342-7744 with a word like "food" or "SNAP" plus an address or ZIP and get an automated answer back. It is not money, it is not an application, and it costs nothing. Use it when you do not know where to start or when the websites are giving you stale listings — the operator has current local information a search engine does not.

Who qualifies, and what trips people up

Nobody is screened. No income question, no documents, no citizenship question to get a referral. The line also routes to social services beyond food. It is staffed weekdays only, so for nights and weekends call 211 instead.

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Not financial or legal advice. Program terms change — verify eligibility, amounts, and deadlines with the administering agency before acting.