Food banks are getting increasingly creative about where they put new distribution outlets. In a bid to expand their reach, especially into underserved areas, food banks are making use of farms, libraries, county clerk offices, shopping malls, and even horse racetracks as food distribution points. This attempt to meet people…
Food Bank News
While some food banks have downplayed traditional food drives in recent years, others have found that a combination of engagement, community, and collaboration has made their traditional food drives incredibly successful. Gleaners Community Food Bank, which serves five counties in southeast Michigan, hosts a trio of food drives each summer.…
When people think of Food is Medicine, they typically think of medically tailored meals and/or produce prescriptions. Those types of targeted solutions address patients with the most acute need for nutritious food. But there’s a much bigger role that Food is Medicine should be playing, according to a report released…
When Dave Krepcho was the CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, he and his friends in food banking across the country would often reflect on the massive impact of the food banking movement over the years and the need to document it. “Somebody should write a book!”…
It’s fair to say that most food banks generally appreciate the Emergency Food Assistance Program. It’s the only federal nutrition program specifically geared toward food banks, providing them with a wide variety of fresh, frozen and canned foods. Most of the food is healthy, and all of it comes from…
There are lots of reasons for food banks to have farms, and most of them don’t have to do primarily with distributing food. That’s the case at Mid-Ohio Food Collective, which is building a farm of the future consisting of high-tech growing spaces and learning facilities. Spanning seven acres in…
Estimates of how much food is wasted annually in America vary widely, but 100 billion pounds is a nice round number that sums up the situation pretty well. Feeding America would like to see more of that 100 billion pounds go toward addressing food insecurity. To that end, it just…
At higher education institutions, innovation often happens beyond the classroom, and that’s especially true when it comes to college food pantries. Because of the mostly young demographic being served, high-tech practices like online ordering and scheduled pickups are practically a given at college pantries. College pantries are also leading the…
Like many food pantries, Interfaith Food Pantry Network of Morris Plains, N.J., turned to drive-through distribution during the pandemic. While the drive-throughs were efficient, the pantry’s interactions with clients started to feel hollow to Carolyn Lake, Executive Director. Some clients tried to convey their food preferences as they rolled on…