In 2022, when a California law went into effect requiring restaurants and other food producers to donate their surplus edible food rather than send it to landfills, no one knew what sort of impact the law would have. As the first of ten such laws passed nationwide aimed at reducing…
Food Bank News
Many people may know DC Central Kitchen as the inspiration for world-renowned chef José Andrés’ global version of the same concept, World Central Kitchen. But the DC-based outfit also stands out for its innovative, on-the-ground hunger relief efforts, particularly its Healthy Corners initiative, which utilizes urban corner stores as distribution…
Mid-Ohio Food Collective is no stranger to the community service model of food banking, which pairs a broad range of social services alongside food distribution. In fact, the food bank helped pioneer the concept with its Mid-Ohio Markets – eight of them so far – that combine free grocery markets…
When Second Harvest Heartland of Minneapolis gave itself the goal of cutting hunger in half by 2030, it struggled mightily with defining exactly what success would look like. Would it succeed when people could get the food they needed by going to a pantry or using SNAP? Or would it…
The state of Massachusetts recently reached a milestone in its Food is Medicine journey. At the beginning of this year, 43 community-based organizations in the state, including many food banks, became Medicaid healthcare providers. “They have become just like your doctor,” said Stephanie Buckler, Deputy Director of Social Services Integration…
With federal funding becoming scarce, food banks are turning more attention to a source of food that has long been a mainstay – food donations from local grocers. Whether they are relatively new to the practice or have been at it for a while, food banks are recognizing that retail…
Partnership for a Healthier America is not a food bank, but it has a goal that many can relate to: building sustainable access to fresh produce. Especially since the pandemic, the 15-year old organization has been in a perpetual cycle of seeking to make communities healthier through nutritious food. Under…
Many people working in hunger relief have likely heard the claim that solving hunger has nothing to do with food. But they may not go as far as Mariana Chilton in saying that it has everything to do with love. Chilton’s assertion may be a tad unconventional, but she has…
GUEST POST BY AMY HAYNES, FACILITATOR, COACH, SOCIAL WORKER – In the face of rising demand, fluctuating resources and systemic change, food bank leaders are leaning into innovation and reimagining what’s possible. Those are the conclusions of a series of interviews conducted with eight seasoned food bank leaders, each bringing…