IFBA - Central Illinois Foodbank, continued.




Home Who we are Friends of IFBA Find a: Food Pantry, Soup Kitchen, Homeless Shelter USDA Commodity Info Glossary Contact Us Members		Central Illinois Foodbank - continued. The Central Illinois Foodbank’s mission is to collect donated food and grocery items from growers, manufacturers, processors, wholesalers and retailers for distribution to charitable agencies serving those in need. The Foodbank also organizes special projects to raise food for those in need and works with public and private organizations to develop creative solutions to prevent and end hunger. The Foodbank has initiated the following programs to increase the supply of nutritious food available for those in need and to increase people’s access to food and other needed services: The America’s Second Harvest Food Industry Donation Project involves the transfer of large food donations from national food companies like Kraft and Nabisco to food banks. Through this project, the Central Illinois Foodbank distributes more than five million pounds of grocery items, including cereal, pasta, dinner entrees, soups, juice and other beverages, crackers and snacks. The Central Illinois Foodbank provides food for more than 60,000 low-income children each year through central Illinois food pantries and soup kitchens. To reach the thousands more children who have not had access or enough support through this system, the Foodbank has developed the Kids Café Project. Kids Cafes, open Monday through Friday, provide after-school nutritious snacks, evening meals and take-home groceries, such as cereal, juice and milk, for the next day. Kids Cafes also provide extra groceries each week for families to ensure that children and parents have food over the weekends. Additionally, Kids Cafes provide children daily learning, arts and recreational activities and, on a weekly basis, children’s support groups. Through Community Harvest, the Foodbank annually collects 600,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from local and regional produce companies for distribution to agencies serving those in need. Community Harvest improves the health of low-income populations and ensures that unsaleable produce is not wasted. Through Food-Rescue Express: Community Cuisine for People in Need, the Foodbank annually collects nearly 200,000 pounds of prepared and perishable food from Springfield restaurants, hotels and catering services for distribution to soup kitchens, shelters and residential feeding programs. The food-rescue program helps increase the quantity and variety of food available for those in need and helps improve the nutritional quality of foods provided to people in need. The Central Illinois Foodbank manages several federal and state grant programs. The Foodbank serves as an Emergency Feeding Organization for the Emergency Food Program for the Illinois Department of Human Services. Through EFP, the Foodbank distributes USDA commodities to food panties and soup kitchens in central Illinois. Approximately 200,000 people in 21 counties benefit from the commodities program through these food pantries and soup kitchens. The Foodbank also provides food assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program in Sangamon County, distributing food to 16 food pantries and soup kitchens, benefiting over 20,000 people in that county each year. Through Surplus Food Centers, the Foodbank provides weekly supplemental food assistance for those in need. Surplus Food Centers prevent waste by offering bulk foods or foods with a short shelf life, such as refrigerated, bakery, produce, and other perishable products donated by food companies directly to needy individuals, after the products have been offered for a reasonable period of time to Foodbank agencies – food pantries, soup kitchens, Kids Cafes and shelters. back For more information please email info@illinoisfoodbanks.org.