There’s no doubt that food banks have been getting bigger in recent years, with every quarter bringing news of more food banks opening new, larger warehouses. Partly behind the surge in growth has been a powerful federally-funded financing tool called the New Markets Tax Credit program. Although the program is…
Food Bank News
Offering culturally familiar meals to immigrant populations has been expensive, operationally challenging, and not always in line with client expectations. Even so, Open Arms of Minneapolis is fully committed to continuing to serve the meals. “There has to be an organizational commitment where you just say, ‘Yep, we’re gonna do…
GUEST OPINION BY DR. MARK BROWN, CEO OF WEST HOUSTON ASSISTANCE MINISTRIES – As of March 4, the U.S. has imposed a 25% tariff on nearly all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. These measures are expected to raise food prices…
When Beacon of Hope of Marshall, N.C., first got into Food is Medicine, it started small, providing food to a handful of clients on a weekly basis. Now it is serving nearly 100 clients, and sees the possibility of serving thousands. The organization’s journey into Food is Medicine paints a…
Food banks are keeping calm and carrying on amid uncertainty around directives from the new administration that could threaten federal hunger relief programs. The federal government foots the funding for a host of feeding programs, including TEFAP to provide food to food banks; SNAP, the behemoth nationwide nutrition assistance program;…
There has always been an undercurrent of anxiety among undocumented populations seeking food assistance. Food Bank News noted underground food distributions for the undocumented as far back as 2020, when the pandemic pushed the need for assistance to new heights. Now that anxiety has been ratcheted up, as directives from…
Every food bank leader brings their own set of experiences and perspectives to the role. That is especially true for Cathy Kanefsky who came on as CEO of Food Bank of Delaware nearly four years ago, while raising twin sons with autism. “I walked into this place with eyes that…
During the pandemic, the Minn.-based hunger relief organization Open Cupboard gained two key insights that helped guide the opening of its newest free-food market. The first was that people don’t want to have to answer a lot of questions to gain access to food. The second was that a community’s…
Ideally, Food is Medicine initiatives run by food banks would be funded by the government through Medicaid. But with states moving slowly to adopt the waivers that would make that possible, hospitals have become a major source of support for Food is Medicine efforts. “It’s been all about partnerships and…