Across Missouri, thousands of children and their families lack access to a reliable, nutrient-rich diet, but The Food Bank's School Market program is adapting to serve this need in new ways that meet neighbors where they are.
According to the most recent Feeding America data, food insecurity is a reality for more than 44 million children and adults across the country. In The Food Bank’s 32-county service area, one in six children experienced food insecurity in 2022. Based on local data, that number is
still increasing.
Both short- and long-term food insecurity have an impact that extends far beyond hunger alone. Without a proper diet, kids and families can experience health challenges and more. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes children experiencing food insecurity may
be at risk of obesity and developmental issues.
Several state and federal relief programs address childhood food insecurity, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Another crucial role the government plays in curbing child hunger is the National School Lunch Program, providing children from low-income families with free or reduced-price meals.
While these programs can provide needed hunger relief to many children, some families don't qualify but still face financial challenges. For others who do qualify, they may not be enough. That’s where The Food Bank steps in.
The Food Bank offers two programs that are specific to children. The Buddy Pack program started in 2005, serving pre-packed, single-sized portions to help keep children fed over the weekend.
School Markets take a different approach. Rather than providing single-servings that support one student, School Markets offer larger packages of food that can serve a child and their family — including younger siblings who may not yet be in school — with items needed for family-style meals. Importantly, School Markets allow students and families to select the foods they want to take home, offering the dignity of choice. In general, the School Market Program provides diversity in meals, long-lasting ingredients and the security of knowing there’s food in the home for parents and siblings. That can result in healthier (and often happier) families.
Recently, more schools are seeing immense benefits after partnering with The Food Bank to implement a School Market. This fall, Columbia Public Schools in Boone County implemented School Markets districtwide. This marked a major change for the district. Although some schools already had a School Market, many transitioned away from Buddy Packs to adopt the more choice-friendly School Markets right in their facility.
Much like our broader service area, in Boone County, an estimated one in six children experience food insecurity. This means, for hundreds of kids in the school district, their school helps provide an important source of enriching food.
Dana Carter, home school communicator for Hickman High School, coordinates the School Market at Hickman. For Carter, an important aspect of managing Hickman’s School Market is sensitivity for students who use this resource. “When you come in here, it's just [the student]
and I,” Carter said. “It's confidential and discreet and I try to explain that to the parents."
Hickman is one of over two dozen schools in the district, serving a portion of the 19,000 students in CPS. While some schools in the district are just getting their program started, Hickman’s partnership with The Food Bank began several years ago. Since then, Carter has seen the
positive impacts of the program.
“It makes me so happy to provide these resources within our building. I love seeing [students’] faces light up,” Carter said. “Every chance I get to push this out for families to use, I do.”
Hunger doesn't happen in a bubble, and when families are fed, children can go about the important business of learning, playing and growing without anxiety about their next meal. We encourage you to visit our website to learn more about how School Markets are proving to be an efficient and effective way to feed students and families across our service area
During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri and others in the charitable food sector adapted to a quickly changing food supply so we could maintain our mission. Four years later, we are still recovering from those challenges, but we are also taking the lessons we learned to a new landscape.The difficulties that the charitable food sector faces are as significant as they were during the pandemic — they are just different. Across the United States, food insecurity is increasing. Data from Feeding America estimates that there were 44 million food insecure people in the United States in 2022. That’s 14% (or 6 million) more people than during the pandemic. In Missouri, 1 in 7 people — and 1 in 5 children — were food insecure in 2022. Based on recent local data, that number is even higher now.
At the same time, the food sources that food banks have traditionally been able to rely on are no longer as available as they once were. Manufacturers are now able to forecast demand more accurately, meaning lower production that leads to fewer bulk donations for the charitable food sector. While our food bank and others do purchase items to share as well, our organization is spending three times more on food and transportation than we did pre-pandemic.Serving more people with less food is daunting, but food banks across the country are implementing new and creative ways to get food to neighbors and improve long-term food security in our communities. At the moment, we’re evaluating strategies in our service area and making sure we right-size distribution in each community based on a number of factors, like Feeding America national data, local data shared by agency partners and more.
To make sure we are able to meet the need, you may see us refine how we distribute food. That could include helping transition some mobile distributions into more permanent brick-and-mortar locations that can better serve the nutritional needs of communities, or it could be serving entire families through a School Market location to make food more accessible in a trusted and familiar space.
It will certainly mean continuing our work to connect neighbors to other food resources so they can focus on necessities like housing and medical care. For example, our SNAP Application Assistance Program provides one-on-one assistance to help eligible neighbors get enrolled in SNAP benefits, also known as Food Stamps. This support can significantly supplement food budgets for individuals and families in need without requiring direct food distribution.
We’ll also keep connecting partner agencies with resources in their area that may be able to provide wraparound services. Partnerships like the one The Food Bank has forged with Anthem provide the opportunity for those seeking food assistance to address other challenges more easily, which can provide the help neighbors need to build a foundation for food security.
Being good stewards of our resources is incredibly important to The Food Bank team — and we know it’s important to you too. That’s why we want to thank you for your investment in our mission to feed neighbors, and for your help as we weather difficulties now and into the future. Together, we can share food and bring hope even in the most challenging of times.