the dish - food bank for the...
TRANSCRIPT
The DishSummer 2017
Fresh produce is the number one item distributed by Food Bank for the Heartland. We believe it is important to offer nutritious fruits and vegetables to children, families and seniors who may otherwise not have access to them.
Did you know?
The Food Bank purchases the majority of the produce we distribute.
We purchase produce through the Midwest Region Produce Cooperative Mixing Center, a partnership with other food banks in our region that allows us to leverage our purchasing power and to have access to a variety of produce from across the country.
We also support local farming operations! We get watermelons and various vegetables from A&T Farms in Valley, Nebraska. We purchase potatoes from Elkhorn River Farms in O’Neill, Nebraska.
In 2017, we distributed an average of 310,549 pounds of purchased produce each month.
In 2017, we spent an average of $42,557.81 each month on purchased produce.
Your $250 donation provides 2,083 lbs. of apples.
In its fifth year, Food Bank for the Heartland Friends – the Foodies – has established itself as an integral part of the Food Bank’s community. Its membership includes over 200 individuals. Last year, the Foodies raised $52,000 for the Food Bank through its annual membership drive, the fall luncheon and marketplace, and the holiday card initiative. Each month members volunteer to pack food bags for at-risk children who participate in the BackPack program. The Foodies also provide appreciation gifts for local teachers who organize the BackPack program at their schools as well as appreciation gifts for Food Bank staff members during the holidays.
The 2017-2018 Foodies membership drive is happening now. If you are interested in joining an organization that supports the Food Bank through volunteerism, fundraising and the promotion of community awareness, please visit FoodBankHeartland.org/volunteer/.
Thank You, Foodies, for Five Years of Support
(Jayne Timmerman, board member; Phyllis Choat, president; Cindy Hansen, board member; and Shelley Siemers, board member)
Food Bank for the Heartland is overwhelmed by the generosity our community showed during Omaha Gives! on May 24. During this 24-hour online giving initiative hosted by the Omaha Community Foundation, the Food Bank raised $84,605 from 569 unique donors! Overall, Omaha Gives! generated 52,901 donations to 907 local organizations totaling $7,831,264.
Thank you to everyone who donated and who shared in the excitement of the day. Omaha Gives! lasts 24 hours, but the positive impact on the nonprofit organizations, donors and community at-large resonates much longer.
Hunger Doesn’t Take a Summer Vacation In Nebraska and western Iowa, nearly one in five children is food insecure – meaning more than 82,000 kids may not have access to regular meals. This is a time of year when at-risk children are especially vulnerable as school meals are not available. Low-income families struggle with increased food costs often compounded with child care costs during the summer months.
Food Bank for the Heartland and our community of supporters are committed to helping these children and their families during this critical time.
In partnership with the Omaha Salvation Army, the Kids Cruisin’ Kitchen program utilizes our combined four food trucks to serve hot, nutritious meals free of charge at sites throughout the Omaha metro. The Food Bank is also helping some metro school districts provide meals to parents whose children are receiving a free lunch at school.
The 11th annual Strike Out Hunger drive concluded June 30. Twenty-seven local companies competed to generate food, funds and volunteers hours for the Food Bank. Members of the community also pitched in by donating at area Baker’s locations. Hundreds of thousands of meals were donated!
Farm Credit Services of America is hosting mobile pantries throughout the summer and fall in several rural counties served by the Food Bank. FCSAmerica employees are volunteering their time to help their neighbors in need.
There are ways you may get involved too. We need volunteers throughout the summer to repack apples, peppers and other fresh produce; to pack food bags for our BackPack program that will resume when school begins; to sort shelf-stable products. You can also make a financial donation. A gift of $10 enables us to provide 30 meals. Visit FoodBankHeartland.org to learn more.
Have a safe and happy summer. Thank you for being a part of our generous community helping others who are less fortunate enjoy their summers too.
Susan Ogborn
Kids Cruisin’ Kitchen Bellevue Public Library site
WoodmenLife employees raising funds for Strike Out Hunger
FCSAmerica employees hosting the Ainsworth mobile pantry
Food Bank Supporters Raise $84,605 during Omaha Gives!
Letter from the President & CEO
“While we were aware that hunger is a problem even in farming communities, our work with the Food Bank team opened our eyes to the extent of the need,” said Teresa Mardesen, FCSAmerica’s Community Relations Manager. “We learned very quickly that hunger exists in everyone’s community, no matter how big or small. FCSAmerica decided we could help get more mobile pantries to our rural areas, pairing our pool of employee volunteers with the Food Bank’s delivery system, including its network of agency partners throughout Nebraska and western Iowa.”
Food Bank for the Heartland’s mobile pantry program delivers food directly to communities that have a high need but limited food resources. The one-day distribution is free to individuals and families and includes a variety of shelf-stable products along with perishable items, including a variety of fresh produce and bakery items.
“Farm Credit Services of America is an extraordinary community partner who really understands and supports our mission,” said Susan Ogborn, Food Bank for the Heartland’s president and CEO. “The ongoing support of the company and its dedicated employees enable the Food Bank to distribute thousands of meals through our Mobile Pantry program to families living in rural communities.”
In Food Bank for the Heartland’s 93-county service area, approximately 213,840 individuals (11.8 percent of the population) are struggling with food insecurity. Map the Meal Gap 2017 is a study from Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, which provides data on a county level.
“As a fi nancial cooperative owned by the farmers and ranchers we serve, we value the hard work that goes into producing quality food,” said Teresa Mardesen, FCSAmerica’s Community Relations Manager. “We see our partnership with the Food Bank as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the production of fresh, nutritious food and the delivery of that food to those most in need. We feel privileged to be working with the Food Bank to help break the hunger cycle.”
In addition to sponsoring and volunteering at its mobile pantries, FCSAmerica employees also help sort food and pack backpacks at the Food Bank’s headquarters in Omaha.
Hunger is as real in farming communities as it is in urban food deserts. Thousands of children, families and seniors in rural areas across the Heartland struggle with food insecurity. Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) is a longtime supporter of Food Bank for the Heartland and is committed to making a diff erence.
Since 2013, FCSAmerica has sponsored mobile pantries in rural communities within the Food Bank’s service area. The fi nancial cooperative’s employees volunteer at the mobile pantries arranging the food items and assisting clients. This year FCSAmerica is hosting 14 mobile pantries in Nebraska and western Iowa, beginning in June and running through October.
FCSAmerica employees hosting the Ainsworth mobile pantry
Food Bank Supporters Raise $84,605 during Omaha Gives!
Thank you to all of the companies that participated in the annual Strike Out Hunger initiative to generate food, funds and volunteer hours for Food Bank for the Heartland and to raise awareness of summertime hunger.
Striking Out Summertime Hunger
FCSAmerica Sponsors Rural Mobile Pantries
CLINE WILLIAMS
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EMPLOYEE OWNED
SamsC L U B
SUPERMARKETS
FlowersFoods
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Food Bank for the Heartland10525 J Street • Omaha, NE 68127
www.FoodBankHeartland.org(402) 331-1213
Susan Ogborn, President & [email protected]
Ericka Smrcka, Director of Network & Client [email protected]
Brian Barks, Director of Philanthropy & [email protected]
Dave Love, Director of Distribution [email protected]
Alexandra Goswami, Director of Finance & [email protected]
LaRonda Birch, Director of Human [email protected]
Joani Mullin, Philanthropy Offi [email protected]
Ann Rourke, Philanthropy Offi [email protected]
Angie Grote, Communications [email protected]
Mike Gudenrath, Food Sourcing [email protected]
Michelle Sause, Assistant Director of Network [email protected]
Hannah Glenn, Assistant Director of Network Education [email protected]
Jason Moucka, Manager of Network [email protected]
Natalie Nelson, SNAP Intake [email protected]
STAFF
BOARD
Tara Stingley, Chairman Cline Williams
Mary Balluff , Chair-electCommunity Volunteer
Sally Christensen, SecretaryFirst National Bank
Susan E. Ogborn, PresidentFood Bank for the Heartland
Jeff Austin, Community VolunteerNate Christ, Access BankRoger Deal, Sequoia Wealth Partners, Inc.Zac Fredrickson, Holland Basham ArchitectsRichard Gregory, Community VolunteerCraig Kinnison, Farm Credit Services of AmericaSherry Magwire, Planet GroupDenise McCauley, WoodmenLifeTom McLaughlin, One World Health CenterTodd Moeller, Alley Poyner Macchietto ArchitectureSusan Nelson, Community VolunteerMelissa Taylor, Mutual of OmahaDavid Ulferts, UNL ExtensionChad Werner, First Data CorporationJim Winterscheid, Travel & TransportStephen Gehring, Legal Counsel, Cline Williams
Top Food Donors in 20163 MILLION MEALS
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35,000 - 99,000 MEALS