The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri helps all people made food insecure by the COVID-19 pandemic. The difficult truth is the financial effects of the virus will be felt by many families long after the crisis is over. Many of our neighbors who never thought they would need assistance have turned to The Food Bank and its partner agency network for help.
The Food Bank is committed to ensuring people in our community have access to nutritious food during this challenging time.
How we are responding
The Food Bank CDC, state and local guidelines to safely distribute food to individuals and families. Those efforts have included:
Working with over 145 partner agencies, such as local food pantries and soup kitchens, to continue the normal distribution of food communities rely upon. The Food Bank provides food to these organizations so they can put it directly into the hands of people who need help.
Collaborating with more than 180 schools to continue providing nutrition to food-insecure students. The Food Bank provides Buddy Packs and supplies for school pantries to schools, which distribute the food to students.
Continuing our regular Mobile Pantry distributions, another consistent source of food for many communities which lack access to a traditional hunger-relief organization. These trucks, which transport and distribute food, have added new precautions to practice proper social distancing.
Hiring temporary staff to bolster our workforce to meet demands. The Missouri National Guard has also stepped in, assigning men and women in uniform to help food repackaging and distribution. This way we can protect our volunteers and provide income to people in our community facing unemployment because of COVID-19.
Hosting 37 additional mobile distributions in 2020, providing food to 13,000 people to meet the surge in need.
Distributing items through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, a federal effort that helped The Food Bank assist 84,520 people in 2020.
How to get help
If you need assistance with food, visit our county-by-county list of partner agencies. These are established organizations whose purpose is to provide food to local communities. Find that list here: sharefoodbringhope.org/get-help
Visit our events calendar to see the most up-to-date information on Mobile Pantry times and locations. Find that calendar here: sharefoodbringhope.org/mobilepantries.
If you are the guardian of a student and need help with food, explore the resources above which help families as well as individuals. Contact your child’s school to learn if additional resources are being offered there.
How to give help
The best way you can support The food Bank is by making a monetary donation. Food supply lines are still under strain making it more difficult to procure food. Click here to make a donation to feed our neighbors in need.
Volunteers are now needed. After our volunteer program being suspended for most of 2020, we have begun asking people to donate their time again. Click here to see our volunteer opportunities.
Are you social media savvy and you want to get further involved in our mission? Consider starting a virtual fundraiser. Encourage your friends, family and community to give while ensuring everyone can stay safe in their homes. Click here and press “Create my own fundraising page!” to get started.