Freestore Foodbank

Our mission is to improve lives by eliminating hunger in partnership with our community. The Freestore Foodbank began in 1971.

Its early beginnings come with a story – a man with a heart to help others. Frank Gerson, a worker at Cincinnati’s incinerator, saw useable household items being tossed away. He began collecting those items and distributing them to disadvantaged families. Gerson named his practice the Free Store. He incorporated it as a public charity, quit his job, and opened for business in his apartment. In 197  ...