Three organizations are influential in supporting Midwest Food Bank - the Caterpillar Foundation, GROWMARK, and State Farm. All three are top supporters of MFB operations in Illinois and beyond. Over the past year, all three have supported MFB in the form of grants - $56,000 from the Caterpillar Foundation, $50,000 from GROWMARK, and $150,000 from ...

Podcasts are here to stay, and they have exploded in popularity. Consider this: there are about 4.5 million podcasts registered globally, and 57% of people in the US have listened to at least one podcast (according to thepodcasthost.com). Because podcasts are easily accessible and allow listeners to zero in on content that interests them whene...

When Bill Dunbar volunteered at Midwest Food Bank Normal, he was not about being recognized for his work. He preferred to work quietly and get the job done. Bill passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in December 2020, leaving a void in his family and at MFB.  Bill's first volunteer time at MFB was with a group of co-workers from State Farm. He...

Mark your calendar for April 18-24! Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal will be hosting "Serve Week."  If you've thought about volunteering or if you are a current volunteer at MFB, this is a great week to serve and connect with other people who share the volunteer spirit. We will have multiple projects ready, and it will give everyone a tast...

The numbers are in for 2021, and it was a year of blessings. Midwest Food Bank spent $14 million and distributed $430 million worth of food. Put another way, for every dollar donated to MFB, $31 worth of food was given to those in need. MFB serves nearly 2,100 nonprofit partner agencies. Generous donors and dedicated volunteers make those numbers p...

Midwest Food Bank has again received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation's top charity evaluator. MFB has received this recognition every year since 2011. Only 3% of charities receive a four-star rating for ten consecutive years. The rating is based on MFB's demonstration of robust financial health and its commitment to accountabi...

Some people might call it an internal nudge. Local community member Nikki Reiland describes it as a "heart ping". Whatever you call it, Nikki says it means she wants to lend a hand. She got one of those pings in November, but this time she wanted to do something for the community, something bigger in scope. Nikki took to social ...

Box builder, natural leader, road warrior. That is a quick way to describe three people, volunteers of the year 2021, at Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal. Let us introduce John Lindahl, Greg DeBo, and Steve Whaley and tell you how they impact MFB day-in and day-out. John Lindahl - John has become an expert at assembling boxes for...

As with all MFB volunteers, truckers are crucial to our mission. Donated and rescued food often means arranging transportation. Even local trips to grocery stores add up in milage. For National Truckers Week in September, MFB highlighted a number of our volunteer truckers.  As we continue to share volunteer truck driver stories. two more&...

Brandon Lipps has joined the Midwest Food Bank National Board of Directors. His vast experience in organizational leadership aligns with the mission of MFB. Brandon grew up in the small town of Woodson, TX. He received a B.S. in agricultural economics and a law degree from Texas Tech University. His wide array of experience includes practicing law,...

The images of a natural disaster show hard-to-believe scenes - flooding up to a roof-top, a home destroyed but books still lined on a shelf, charred trees with a fire approaching an urban area, rain and high winds bending trees over. These are familiar sights following floods, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes. In the aftermath, there are people who...

Building relationships and partnerships extend to all aspects of Midwest Food Bank, including the behind-the-scenes vendors. One of our partnerships is the online giving platform iDonate. "It's evident that iDonate is consistent with the MFB culture," says Jada Hoerr, MFB Chief Resource Officer. "We are a growing organization, and as iDonate c...

With roles at both MFB and his family farm, Eric Hodel works in two industries associated with feeding people. This helps make Eric uniquely qualified to serve as Midwest Food Bank's CEO beginning January 1, 2022. David Kieser, MFB's current CEO, will remain the President of the MFB Board of Directors. Eric joined Midwest Food Bank in April 2017, a...

As a faith-based organization, it is the mission of the Midwest Food Bank to share the love of Christ by alleviating hunger ad malnutrition locally and throughout the world and providing disaster relief; all without discrimination. MFB is about people.   Food Recipients - We work to put food into the hands of the food insecure.&...

Most US households are "food secure," meaning they have consistent access to enough food for healthy, active living. However, some households lack access to adequate food due to a lack of money or other resources. These homes are called "food insecure." Midwest Food Bank turns to the US Department of Agriculture's annual report on household fo...

As Midwest Food Bank grows in size, we also want to grow in understanding. Understanding the stories of our food recipients helps us fulfill our mission. With every food recipient we meet, we grow in compassion and humility.  We appreciate their willingness to partner with us and are honored to learn their stories and share them with you. We w...

Rolland "Rollie" Reed isn't new to Midwest Food Bank, but he is taking on a new role. He will serve as the Warehouse Manager for the Bloomington-Normal location, beginning December 6. In 2010 Rollie came to MFB after 20 years working in warehousing and logistics. He was looking for a change when a job opened at MFB Peoria. He was the Warehouse Mana...

Donna Haas knows God answers prayer. She also knows the answer can be through a text message. After a sleepless night, Donna was praying and reading scripture seeking God's purpose in her life. "I asked Him to please open the door if there was a better way to serve Him," says Donna. "Within eight hours, I got a text from my sister - ...

Midwest Food Bank is pleased to announce the hire of Nate Westerfield as our new IT Director. He began at MFB on September 7 and will work part-time through October. Beginning November 1, he will transition to full-time and be located in Morton, IL division. Nate brings more than 20 years of IT experience to MFB. Most recently, Nate has served as t...

At Midwest Food Bank, we are surrounded by unsung heroes every day. Our business model relies heavily on a strong volunteer base. Volunteers fill many roles, such as bookkeeper, receptionist, file clerk, building maintenance, forklift operator, cook, volunteer leader, food distributor. These vital jobs are done with love, warmth, and joy as people ...