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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.