Firewood banks, also called firewood assistance programs or firewood ministries, operate similarly to food pantries, providing emergency heating fuel in the form of firewood to heating insecure households. Volunteers often process the firewood as well as arrange for it to be picked up or distributed to those in need.

The National Wood Bank Project formed to assist operating wood banks and to encourage the creation of new wood banks. Our part of the project involves distributing information to interested parties nationally; creating helpful materials that will improve the efficacy and efficiency of wood banks; and helping to determine what communities could most benefit from a wood bank. We hope that this information will be useful for wood bank volunteers and leaders, suppliers of firewood, and the wood bank end users, as well.

The National Wood Bank Project’s Outreach and Education program is a collaboration between the School of Forest Resources and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. It is funded by the USDA Forest Service through grant # 22-DG-11132544-048.