Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina was founded in 1981, as a project of the Charlotte Area Fund. The organization became autonomous in January 1983, and was originally incorporated as Metrolina Food Bank. Within 15 months, the Food Bank was able to qualify for membership in Second Harvest, the national food bank network.

In 1999, Second Harvest became America's Second Harvest and today is recognized as the nation's largest hunger relief organization, comprised of more than 200 food banks and food rescue programs across the United States.

Since late 1996, the Food Bank has added several new programs. The Pee Dee Branch operates in Mt. Gilead and serves agencies in Anson, Stanly and Montgomery counties. The Catawba Branch opened in March 2006 and serves Catawba, Burke and Lincoln County agencies. There are 33 Kids Café sites in 9 different counties serving hundreds of children each week. We are piloting Backpack Programs in Mecklenburg and York County that will provide at risk children with backpacks full of nutritious food on the weekends. Each year the Mobile Pantry Program conducts approximately 100 mobile pantries which carry an average of 9,000 pounds of food per trip into our most rural areas.

Our Second Helping Program provides boxes full of staple foods each month to homebound seniors in York, Lancaster, Lincoln, Cabarrus, and Union (NC) counties. Our Five a Day Calcium Program provides calcium rich foods and nutritional information to seniors and children in six different counties.

In 2006-2007 our BackPack Program will expand into Anson, Cabarrus and Iredell Counties and our Second Helpings Program will expand into Lincoln County.