Hurricane Helene tore through North Carolina's agricultural heartland, leaving farmers scrambling to sustain their livestock. In the wake of the hurricane, vast swathes of farmland have been rendered unusable, and local livestock producers face a grim reality: no feed for their cattle. Recognizing this urgent need, Midwest Food Bank has mobilized 6...

BLOOMINGTON Mike Swartz's Journey to Midwest Food Bank Leadership Meet Mike Swartz, the new Executive Director at Midwest Food Bank Bloomington, who joined the team on August 12. With over two decades of experience in nonprofit management, Mike brings a wealth of leadership and a heart for service. His previous role as Manager for the McLean County...

We often hear this question: "Why is all this food donated?" In 2023 alone, we distributed over $482 million worth of food. Midwest Food Bank partners with food producers, manufacturers, and distributors to save products. Sometimes, the food is something they can't sell. This may result from market challenges due to economic changes, shifting consu...

Midwest Food Bank values our donors and we steward every gift with integrity. We frequently receive questions about various ways to give to MFB and one mechanism - Donor-Advised Funds - is a way donors have partnered with MFB to achieve their giving goals and benefit our mission. A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is a type of giving program that allows yo...

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, IL New Agency Coordinator Sees MFB's Community Impact Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal welcomes Erin Jennings as the new Agency Coordinator. She brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to nonprofit advocacy to our mission. In her role, Erin will foster strong relationships with the non-profit agencies we serve. A...

As the holiday season approaches, our hearts fill with warmth and a desire to give back to our communities. For Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal, this is a time when we typically receive an overwhelming number of group volunteer requests, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Here are six meaningful ways to get involved and make a ...

For the first time in history, enough food is produced to feed everyone. Globally, farmers are growing over 22 billion pounds of produce every day, enough to provide every person on the planet almost twice, according to the Farm Link Project. It's not about having enough food; it's about getting the roughly 30-40% of the wasted US food supply into ...

The work of Midwest Food Bank (MFB) is not new to Aimee Beam. For the last decade, she has worked with the people who receive food from MFB, most recently serving on the Executive Leadership team of The Baby Fold, a large nonprofit in Normal, IL. Aimee is the new Executive Director of MFB Bloomington-Normal, IL. She is replacing former Executi...

You could say that Duane Whitlow has a heart for Midwest Food Bank.In 2018, he first toured the Normal location of MFB and learned about the mission and work of MFB."I had the opportunity to visit with MFB founder David Kieser and learned firsthand how this great organization started and became what it is today," says Duane.It didn't take long befo...

After a varied career, including sales, publishing, logistics, and the mortgage industry, Steven Bishop has followed a calling from God into coaching and youth ministry. Now he is adding another meaningful career to his life. Steven is the new part-time Volunteer Coordinator at MFB Bloomington-Normal. Steven grew up in Bloomington and Nor...

If you come to Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal, you will likely meet someone from Wesley United Methodist Church.They contribute to MFB in many ways - forklift drivers, first impression volunteers, SWAT Team (Sorting Wonderful Amazon Things), truck drivers, and leaders on food distribution days. Groups from the church also come to help with vo...

"Loyal loaders" are the people that show up regularly at Midwest Food Bank Bloomington/Normal during food distribution weeks. It's that loyalty that really makes the process smooth. Currently, MFB needs volunteers that can commit each month to become one of those "loyal loaders."What does that mean?Typically, distribution week is the first ful...

A healthy start is a challenge for children in East Africa. That start can impact them for the rest of their life. Kapu Africa (Midwest Food Bank East Africa) isn't backing away from big goals to provide that healthy start by reducing stunting in Kenya and across East Africa.  What is stunting?  It is when a child has a low height fo...

Midwest Food Bank volunteers are known for their ability to work hard and have fun. That combination happens for a week each month when food is distributed to Midwest Food Bank's nonprofit partners. It is especially helpful if volunteers can commit to one or more days regularly for food distribution. Our current volunteers are ready to help train a...

MFB Normal has implemented a new inventory system, paving the way for MFB's other locations. The system, Primarius, includes scanning bar codes on pallets, which is quite different from the 20 years of using Excel spreadsheets. An implementation team has been meeting weekly for 18 months to prepare for the launch. The switch took a great deal of pl...

Like many food pantries, Livingston County Food Pantry saw an increase in people needing food during the pandemic. They shifted their operations but remained open because building a relationship with their clients is vital to them, says Bill Fairfield, a volunteer."Midwest Food Bank has partnered with Livingston Food Pantry for over 13 years," says...

Perceptions and reality don't always match up. You might be surprised to learn that 53% of food-insecure people work full-time.So, the suggestion "Why don't they just get a job?" falls flat for more than half the people choosing between putting gas in their car, paying a utility bill, or going to the grocery store.The USDA defines food insecurity a...

 Keep or pitch? That's the question everyone faces when cleaning out a refrigerator or a pantry. The date on the product is usually the determining factor if it stays or goes. But those dates are one of the biggest reasons that 30-40 percent of food in the United States is thrown away even though it is still safe to consume. The dates printed ...

MFB began a partnership with Amazon as a food donor in 2020. Since then, Amazon has provided loads of product across the MFB footprint and is a valued food donor for the organization. Some divisions have picked up Amazon Fresh regular loads - a tremendous source of nutritious and fresh food. That partnership continues to grow and expand in exciting...

When groups of people sign up together at Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal, it makes a huge difference. There is power in numbers.On distribution days, MFB food partners come to our warehouse to receive food without charge. It takes 60-70 people each distribution day to make it all happen. When groups of people volunteer together, it helps MFB ...