Ground beef, milk, chicken, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, coffee and orange juice are among the staples that cost more these days.

Soaring prices are causing shoppers to rethink long-held habits such as store loyalty.

Wal-Mart and other supercenters that sell food are on the climb representing almost 25% of the market share.

Those who can’t absorb the added expenses are increasingly seeking help from food pantries and food banks that distribute nearly two billion pounds of food and grocery products each year.

Many of the food banks I have spoken with have experienced anywhere from a 35%-60% increase in demand over last year.

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The Central Missouri Food Bank’s Columbia location served more than 11,000 needy people in the month of August.  The food bank set a new record for clients served in each of the past three months.  This time last year, the food bank was serving between 8500 and 9000 people a month. 

The center averaged between 150 and 200 new clients every month since June. 

Boone county has had the lowest unemployment in Missouri for the past two years, but we are they still see people coming out.

Corporate donations and community food drives really help, but it just doesn’t keep up with the increased demand.  The Central Missouri Food Bank, like the Northern Arizona Food Bank, is reaching out to local hunters and gardeners to boost its stocks of protein and fresh produce – key components to the Food Pyramid.

Patrons have come to ask if there is fresh game like deer available as there are so many health benefits to protein from free range animals as well as from fresh fruits and vegeatables locally grown.

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s “Share the Harvest” program donated 2.1 million pounds of meat to food banks in the state.

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There are a few distinctions on the definition of a Food Bank and a Food Pantry.  Both are 501c3 organizations that fill out 990 forms to the IRS and have transparent financial statements as they both fall into the non-profits category.

There are a few hundred non-profits that call themselves a “Food Bank” across the US.  These look and feel typically like a Costco with pallets of shelf stable food items, large commercial refrigerators for fresh produce and freezers for frozen items.  The difference is that, typically, food banks don’t directly service an individual who needs food…although many do as well.

These Large Food Banks service over 65,000 smaller non-profit agencies that have smaller storage facilities and will directly service individuals who come to their location.  Each agency will drive their own vehicles to pick up their supplies from their closest food bank as much as once each week.

Furthermore, over 200 food banks across the country share the distinction of being affiliated with Feeding America.  Feeding America’s mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks by sharing best practices to maximize the amount monetary and food donations received and stretch food purchasing dollars throughout its group.

Isn’t it comforting to know that your local non-profit is supported by a larger non-profit entity, who is supported by another larger non-profit entity — all with the same intent in mind — Feed the Hungry!

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Yet another pilgrimage.  Some folks have to visit every continent.  Others might have the need to see every baseball park across the US.  For me…it’s Food Banks and niche non-profits who have gotten creative. 

The alarm rings at 4:00 am on a Monday.  I’d like to say I left Monday morning…but really…it’s still night in my mind; having had a long nap that night.  Flight leaves at 6:30 from CA and it is already 8:30 in Chicago.  Add 6 hours for the flight and I am not unpacking until about 2:00pm in my hotel room downtown Chicago.

But what a beautiful day.   When you see a movie of downtown Chicago whether it’s contemporary like “Ferris Bueller” or a period piece like “The Untouchables,” the lighting seems almost too bright…too Hollywood.  When you walk along the Chicago River on a sunny day in August that light is real as the river creates a space you don’t see in New York or LA.  Maybe it was lack of sleep or the idea that we were in the heartland of America’s Mid-west, or the thought of who we had planned to visit that day, but that light felt so hopeful.

I don’t know Chicago like I do New York or LA, but we drove to the south side of Chicago.  There were open spaces and parks, brown stones and the same “L” that courses through downtown but the energy felt different.  There were empty shopping carts in the parks, broken glass on the sidewalks, litter floating in ponds and the same “L” rolled by but with a deafening sound. 

We drove under the “L” through the light that casts its melancholy shadows.  There were work crews donning orange vests, boarded up buildings, overgrown lots and abandoned vehicles.  

Like traveling through the desert, we came upon our destination; Vital Bridges, a center for AIDS outreach, that appeared like an oasis.  We walk in to see a small but very busy staff.  We met with a Registered Dietician who used her training to bring in the needed nutritional food that clients with HIV must have.  She covers the entire food pyramid being mindful to: low sugar, good fats, organic produce and dairy, and whole grains while under the constraints of a very tight budget.

Imagine contracting HIV and becoming too weak to work, losing your job, your home and having to choose between food and medication.  This center serves clients that have renal failure and diabetes on top of a whole host of other side effects of HIV.  Her program is designed to supplement the diet of her customers, but admittedly, as she serves those well below the poverty line; her food is often stretched to be the sole source of nutrition for her clients.  She does her best to accommodate everyone out of her pantry that is 600 sq feet.

Today, the organization serves nearly 2,000 people impacted by the HIV epidemic annually. Since their founding in 1988, Vital Bridges has provided more than 10 million meals, 600,000 nights of shelter and 250,000 hours of counseling to over 10,000 clients.  When you think that a non-profit seems to barely have enough to support its client base, they push the boundaries.  This center’s goal is not only to continue to support all those individuals that come to them weekly, but to increase their outreach to eventually include all clients with debilitating and incurable diseases throughout Chicago.

Every time I see what non-profits do…I leave thinking: “wow”….I have to spread the word.

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I spoke with Northern Arizona Food Bank earlier today….and I have to share.  I beam when I hear how non-profits handle their challenges creatively.

It is almost a universal fact that virtually every single non-profit food organization has experienced an increase in demand.  Northern Arizona Food Bank has had a 65% increase in their demand just versus last year which was up from the year before.

Their demand is up but their financial donations are down.  I asked how they manage to keep up.  They rely on creative measures to continue to hand out more and more pounds of food each year.   In creating their emergency box of food that they hand out to families, the majority of the items are a balance fresh produce and fruit.  The creation of “The 3000 Club” of 3000 local growers and businesses aid in the collection of over 30 million pounds of fresh produce each year that directly contribute to meeting the rise in demand.

Knowing that each emergency box was filled with fresh produce I was curious about the challenge surrounding protein as this is the most costly part of our food pyramid.  Again, I was struck by another creative solution.  Successful hunters that fill their tag have a unique opportunity to return to their heritage as food providers and give back to their community to help the less fortunate. Donations of wild game meat from individuals have exceeded 32,900 pounds, providing over 144,500 quarter pound servings or meals comprised of wild game meat that is both lean and range fed (Venison, Elk, Buffalo).

I learn more and more with every food bank that I speak with.

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WOW!  Compelling.  Moving.  Inspiring.

200,000 meals handed out in one summer….a summer with 3 weeks remaining…in one city, San Antonio…to children.

San Antonio is about 16% the size of New York, and handed out 36 million of pounds of food last year, 2009.

This summer, this one food bank handed out up to 5,000 meals; breakfast, lunch and snacks, at over 120 different sites.

In 2003, they handed out 34,000 meals for the entire summer.  With 3 weeks left to the summer here in 2010, they are projecting 260,000 meals – almost 8 times more than 2003. 

Nutrition is still an important component of the meals handed out as all items are approved by the USDA and meet Fruit/Veg, Bread/Grain, Milk or Meat/Meat Alternative requirements.

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First-grader, Robbie, decided he could make a difference in his community and came up with a clever way to help fight hunger. Robbie came up with the idea of selling cloth napkins and chose Food Bank of the Rockies, as his beneficiary. 

Robbie has already earned over $1,100 for the Food Bank of the Rockies and was just honored with an award from Golden’s mayor for his good work in the community!

Being a father of 2 small children, a 6yr old and 4yr old, when I see a story of a 6-7yr boy making this kind of impact so early on in his life, it is truly heartwarming!

 

Working for a food supplier that sources low cost food for Non-Profits, we know many of the food insecure across the country are children Robbie’s age.  To see that he has SOLD OUT of his first run of napkins and plans on continuing his fund raising campaign gives us all the inspiration to do more.

 

Thanks Robbie!

Thanks Food Bank of the Rockies!

 

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I just read a great quick Blog from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara, Second Harvest Blog. 

There was a food show held earlier this month by the National Association of College and University Food Services in San Jose.  As this convention was wrapping up the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara staff quickly rounded up 24 unsuspecting volunteers along with carts and bins to collect extra samples and food that wasnt handed out .  Within a short order of time, 8,000lbs of food was collected!

Having been to a few food shows in my time, there are so many booths with so many samples handed out.  Since no vendor wants to run out, everyone ends up bringing three times what they need for the show.

This solution helps feed the hungry and reduces the carbon foot print caused from shipping all unused samples back a supplier office or warehouse….or worse the waste caused by disposing of first quality food.

What a Great Idea!

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So dear reader, if you didn’t already know most Food Banks across the country share similar programs to tackle the fight against hunger.  There are several programs specific for children who are food insecure:  Kid’s Summer Feeding Programs, Kid’s Back Pack Programs and Kid’s Café.  The goal is to feed children outside of School Feeding Programs.  The most critical time is in the evening, on weekends and over the summer.

St Mary’s in Arizona takes these programs to a whole new level.  They are involved in all the programs I listed above, but go beyond hunger outreach.  As a part of a community service drive, state inmates also participate in the fight against hunger.  While learning how to work within a large warehouse, many of the inmates help assemble boxes that feed families with children, fill kid’s back packs with food and work in the kid’s café producing hot meals.

At the end of our visit, we toured a working culinary learning facility complete with a conference style class room, full kitchen and food prep area.  Participants who are out of work not only get boxes of food to feed their families, but receive a culinary certificate after nine weeks of instruction while they work in the kid’s café preparing hot meals for children and the elderly.  The culinary facility also includes an employment center where participants are connected with hiring managers from local restaurants, hotels, resorts and kitchens throughout Phoenix.

St Marys really shows us that food is not only good for the body, but also good for the soul.

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If you are at all involved in Food Banking or Non-Profit Food Donations, you have probably have heard of St Mary’s Food Bank of Arizona (www.firstfoodbank.org) .  I made my first pilgrimage to the World’s Largest and Oldest Food Bank just recently.  It was only 110 in Phoenix, but it was “Dry Heat.”  I felt like I was running in from the rain as I headed to the nearest air conditioned building with the same urgency.

67 million pounds of food.  67 MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD.

As we toured the facility I kept repeating those 5 words in my mind.  Starting with one location 43 years ago in 1967, in Phoenix; St Mary’s has formed an Alliance and now has 5 locations in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Surprise. 

From one location alone, St Marys hands out 35,000 Shelf Stable Pantry Boxes every month to their clients.  They hand out 3 types of Pantry Boxes weighing 25lbs, 50lbs and 75lbs for a family of 2, 4 or 6.  On top of the shelf stable box, each client gets an equal amount of fresh produce and dairy.  Because so much food is handed out at one time, each client uses a large grocery cart with a volunteer who assists with loading and unloading.  This happens 35,000 times a month!

So much more to tell as we spent a few days in Arizona.  Stay tuned for the next blog entry…

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