What is PantryPOS?
PantryPOS is food pantry management software that runs the whole distribution — not just the sign-in sheet. It handles client intake and eligibility, client-choice checkout, FIFO inventory with expiration and lot/recall tracking, cold-chain temperature logs, donation and tax-receipt records, volunteer scheduling, appointments, and TEFAP/USDA reporting, for a single pantry or a food bank and its network of partner agencies. It works online or offline, on a phone, tablet or computer. Pricing is $39 a month for the first location with a 30-day free trial and no card to start.
Who it is for
Food pantries, food banks and their partner agencies — from a single volunteer-run pantry to a multi-site network. It fits any distribution that has to track more than attendance: what is on the shelves, what is about to expire, which lot went home in a recall, whether the fridge held temperature, and the monthly report that ties it together.
The problem it solves
Most systems a pantry is handed record who came. The work that actually eats the week is everything else. Food-bank-provided intake tools usually stop at the service report; inventory, expiration, recalls and cold-chain then live in binders, spreadsheets and somebody's memory. PantryPOS puts the whole job in one record, and the service numbers fall out of it as a by-product instead of being assembled by hand at quarter end.
What it does
- Client intake and eligibility that produce the TEFAP monthly report automatically, plus a de-identified visit-level export for Service Insights.
- TEFAP records a monitor asks for: who picked up each visit (household or named proxy), every eligibility declaration kept as history, a printable signed distribution log, a receiving log, TEFAP stock reconciled by lot, a civil-rights complaint log, and a training and food-worker-card log.
- Your State’s TEFAP rules for all 50 States and DC — income limits that recalculate automatically, forms, signature, proxy and retention rules, complaint deadlines, report age bands — shown in the app and on public State pages.
- Client-choice checkout (market mode) so households pick what they need, with limits by household size.
- FIFO inventory with expiration warnings, so the oldest stock goes out first and nothing quietly expires on the shelf.
- Lot and barcode tracking for recalls. A supplier recall produces a list of the households that may have received it — by name, item, weight and pickup date — so notification calls come from a real list.
- Cold-chain temperature logs for refrigerators and freezers.
- Donation records with tax-receipt letters, and volunteer scheduling with hours.
- Appointments, pre-orders and a waitlist.
- Multi-site roll-up for a food bank and its partner agencies, with per-site records and a network view.
- Offline operation for buildings with weak internet, syncing when the connection returns.
- Exports in WellSky format and produces MealConnect receipt files, so it fits alongside the systems a food bank already runs.
What it is not
PantryPOS is not just an intake or sign-in tool — it is built for the inventory, recall and cold-chain half of the job that those tools skip. It is not a certified MealConnect integration: it produces the MealConnect receipt files, but that is not the same as a certified link. If your food bank mandates a specific certified system for the service report, PantryPOS runs alongside it for everything that system does not cover.
An intake tool or PantryPOS?
| Food-bank intake tool | PantryPOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Records who was served | Yes | Yes |
| TEFAP monthly report | Usually | Automatic, from the same intake data |
| Your State’s TEFAP rules on screen | Rarely | All 50 States + DC, sources cited, checked weekly |
| TEFAP stock reconciled by lot | Rarely | Yes — received, distributed, discarded, on hand; unexplained shown |
| Inventory & expiration | Varies; often an add-on or not offered | FIFO with expiry warnings |
| Answer a recall by household | Rarely | Lot & barcode → list of households who may have received it |
| Cold-chain temperature logs | Rarely | Yes |
| Donations, volunteers, appointments | Rarely | Yes |
| Works offline | Varies | Yes, syncs on reconnect |
| Cost | Often free from the food bank | $39 a month for the first location |
More detail: what to look for in food pantry software.
Pricing
$39 a month for the first location, with a 30-day free trial and no card to start. Multi-site networks are billed on a graduated per-location scale that lowers the rate as sites are added.
Frequently asked questions
What is PantryPOS?
Food pantry management software that runs the whole distribution — intake and eligibility, client-choice checkout, FIFO inventory with expiration and lot/recall tracking, cold-chain logs, donations, volunteers, appointments and TEFAP/USDA reporting — for a single pantry or a food bank network, online or offline.
Who is PantryPOS for?
Food pantries, food banks and their partner agencies, from one volunteer-run site to a multi-site network.
How is it different from the system my food bank provides?
Those usually record who was served. PantryPOS adds the other half — inventory, expiration, recalls, cold-chain, donations and volunteers — and produces the service numbers from that same data. It exports in WellSky format and produces MealConnect receipt files.
Can PantryPOS answer a food recall?
Yes. Inventory tracked by lot and barcode against each visit means a recall produces a list of the households that may have received it, by name, item, weight and pickup date.
How much does PantryPOS cost?
$39 a month for the first location, 30-day free trial, no card. Multi-site networks are on a graduated per-location scale.