donate now ❤
The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri and its partner agencies gathered in September for their Annual Agency Conference. The conference happens once a year and brings The Food Bank and its 145 partner agencies together as a network to learn from one another.
To kick off the conference, The Food Bank shared accomplishments from Fiscal Year 2026. Together, the network shared 23.3 million pounds of food and other household goods. Of what was shared, 65% was Foods to Encourage, which includes nutritious food like fresh produce, dairy and protein. The network also saved more than 5.2 million pounds of food from the landfill.
The conference included three breakout sessions featuring guest speakers from organizations that support The Food Bank. A member of the Boone County Office of Emergency Management spoke about preparing for a disaster. Mid-MO Harvest Collective and Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture shared about sustaining growth through community gardens. In the third session, a panel discussed the impact of using the choice model.
For the keynote address, Desiree Dillon, the senior director of Neighbor Access and Experience Services with Feeding America, recorded a video.
“I thank you for what you do every day across Central and Northeast Missouri. Thank you for being the people who turn a national mission into local action. Thank you for continuing to learn from your neighbors and from one another,” Desiree said. “And during this Hunger Action Month, I hope you leave today proud of what this network has accomplished and thinking about the next action you can take to make the experience even better for the neighbors who count on all of us.”
This year, the conference offered a “boothapalooza,” where people could walk around to different booths to learn more about a specific topic like nutrition education, volunteer recruitment and more. Two members of The Food Bank Market’s Neighbor Advisory Council hosted a booth to talk with people about the impact of seeking neighbors’ input and ideas to improve the experience at a food pantry.
The Food Bank Director of Community Engagement, Stacey Brown, took time to highlight successes at different partner agencies. Four of the agencies were recognized with a “Friend of The Food Bank” award.
“While we recognize that all of you do the amazing and hard work of sharing food with those who need it, each year there are always a few standouts, and we love to give recognition where recognition is due,” Stacey said. “This is a hard task. With so many awesome partners, it is not easy to single out just a mere few to recognize.”
Stacey presented the awards to VAC Pantry, La Belle First Christian Church Food Pantry, Warsaw Mobile Market and Aging Best. Before presenting each award, Stacey highlighted important work happening at each agency.
This year, VAC Pantry strategically relocated to improve access for unsheltered neighbors and neighbors without means of transportation.
“In their new space, VAC has been able to offer a partial choice model that is customized to individual neighbor resources. Each neighbor can receive a pre-built box of staple food items, and then choose from other available selections, like produce or cooler/freezer items, to complete their visit,” Stacey said. “This hybrid choice model ensures neighbors have access to a full range of nutritious foods, while also ensuring they receive items they can store and use based on their personal resources.”
Volunteers run the LaBelle First Christian Church Food Pantry and are dedicated to getting food into the hands of people who need it.
“As a participant in our Retail Rescue program, LaBelle has built a community around our shared mission of sharing food. Their team of volunteers has worked to create a community value of communication and cooperation so that whenever they get a call from their local Dollar General, big or small, they accept the donations,” Stacey said.
The Warsaw Mobile Market in Benton County received an award for its outstanding dedication to distributing food monthly and for how volunteers navigate long lines at the site.
“There are many neighbors who attend this distribution – a large portion of them coming to the distribution site to secure their place in line even before the sun comes up,” Stacey said. “The mile-long line does nothing to deter this group of dedicated volunteers from showing up every month, rain or shine.”
The fourth and final award went to Aging Best, a congregate meal site that helped The Food Bank guide many of its partnering senior centers through change over the last year. Stacey highlighted Aging Best’s willingness to collaborate and support other partners.
“The ideas and guidance shared by Aging Best with senior centers have been a vital part of our continued partnership with these centers and allow The Food Bank to continue to share food with our senior neighbors right in places where they congregate for food, fellowship and more,” Stacey said.
While these four partner agencies truly accomplished amazing work, The Food Bank is grateful for all of its partner agencies. No two agencies are alike. Some are run by volunteers while others are run by paid staff. Some operate out of a building while others operate out of a Mobile Market. Some are open multiple days a week while others may serve neighbors once a month. Together, they share one important mission: to feed people in need. To all of our partners, thank you so much for everything you do.