Food banks have a bigger presence in the U.S. than ever. It’s not just that millions of Americans turned to food banks for the first time during the pandemic. It’s also that food banks are exploding in terms of sheer footprint. Most prominent is Atlanta Community Food Bank’s new 345,000…
Food Bank News
A survey of 50 food banks of all sizes found that larger food banks are more likely to rely on technology and operations partners for help in making home deliveries, bringing more efficiency to their programs. Home deliveries, rarely offered by food banks before the pandemic, have become much more…
The Greater Chicago Food Depository has not been the same ever since CEO Kate Maehr took to heart the inequities revealed by Covid-19. Her visceral reaction to the pandemic’s impact – she has described realizing the depth of inequity between neighborhoods as a slap in the face – has resulted…
By the time a new food program to serve Indigenous populations in Wisconsin wraps up at the end of this month, it will have distributed more than 10,000 food boxes to Tribal Elders throughout the state. For the hunger-relief organizations involved, it also will have provided a new perspective on…
The USDA recently gave a nice boost to farm-to-food bank projects, awarding more than $7.5 million to support them, up from $3.7 million in each of the previous two years. But the Center for Science in the Public Interest thinks funding for such projects should increase to at least $25…
The food bank CEOs of America have a lot to be proud of when they think back on the enormous amount of aid they’ve provided to vulnerable populations devastated by Covid-19. The Feeding America network alone (which does not include dozens of independent food banks) distributed more than six billion…
Like a farmer’s market on wheels, mobile food markets have emerged in recent years as handy solutions for organizations seeking to bring fresh produce to vulnerable populations. Yet the pantries are not without their Achilles’ heels, as organizations have sometimes struggled to find the appropriate mix of product, pricing, location…
Fifty-two years ago this week, the Nixon Administration convened a national conference on ending hunger that resulted in landmark legislation, including the creation of WIC. The conference was considered a breakthrough success in addressing the food and nutrition issues of the time. This week, Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern is revving…
Earlier this month, Sandy Swett wasn’t sure how the Harrison Food Bank could supply Thanksgiving to families in need this year. Swett is the Maine-based organization’s Founder and Operations Manager. On October 21, she learned that the Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program did not—and could not—deliver her organization’s…