Nussbaum Trucking saw a need and provided a solution. The need - the CDL driving course at Heartland College had grown beyond the college's ability to manage. The solution - the Nussbaum Trucking Academy at Heartland Community College in Normal. The Academy started in the fall of 2021, and so far, 58 students have completed training and education t...

God provides before we even know it's needed. That happens all the time at Midwest Food Bank. Nancy Bucher stopped at MFB Morton to see if there was a need for a volunteer bookkeeper. There wasn't an immediate need, but one soon arose. "I gave Nancy a call and she came and stepped right into the role," says Lisa Martin, executive director in Morton...

Midwest Food Bank has five values that are based on the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. Our facilities are intentionally designed so we can embrace our community, with kitchens, Conference Rooms, and project space in our warehouses. Here is a look at what "Embracing Our Communities" means to MFB. MFB's mission&nb...

Before a disaster hits, Midwest Food Bank is ready. Being ready means providing what is needed for that particular disaster because flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes differ. But the common denominator is the people in the middle of those disasters. Mike Hoffman, director of inventory and logistics for MFB, says helping people through t...

Two category 4 hurricanes hitting the United States within two weeks created an opportunity for Midwest Food Bank to share God's love. Our partnership with The Salvation Army allows us to offer help early and often. Loads of family food boxes, hygiene kits and cleaning supplies were sent to victims of both Harvey (Texas) and Irma (Florida). In all ...

The squash, tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes are just part of the harvest at St. Ann's Garden of Hope in Peoria. The garden, part of the OSF Faith Community Nursing program, grows healthy food for people in the area so they can minister to them as a whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Recently, MFB Morton was asked to be a part of the Wednesd...

Midwest Food Bank began an organization-wide focus on safety in 2021. Rather than being a one-time effort, this initiative is ongoing with specific goals. It was an opportunity to evaluate and strengthen safety measures already in place. Mike Hoffman, MBF's Inventory and Logistics Director, leads the safety initiative. "Providing a safe work e...

Midwest Food Bank Values include Embrace Our Communities and Empowering Volunteers. One of the ways we do this is by providing clean, efficient, safe, and comfortable gathering places. At MFB, we work hard to maintain clean, inviting warehouses. To keep them well maintained and organized, we have standards, prioritize investment, and have safety co...

While food insecurity is rapidly rising, the world is expected to waste 2.1 million tons of food annually by 2030, according to Yale research. In the United States alone, $408 billion was spent on food in 2021 that was never eaten. That's nearly a quarter of US food going to waste instead of to those who need it. On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, Mid...

One of many volunteer positions at Midwest Food Bank is the role of Advisory Board members. These people share their expertise and time to help shape and direct the local MFB location they serve. Midwest Food Bank Morton welcomes four new advisory board members - Sue Neihouser, Justin Pflederer, Javier Salazar, and Mary Staple. Their comm...

Midwest Food Bank donors are not only generous but creative. They come up with various ways to raise money and awareness for MFB.  Tony Escobar, a representative of Thrivent, has a history of supporting organizations that provide food to people in need, and he looks for ways to get that done. He recently hosted a French cooking ...

Tender Mercies meals are designed by dieticians to be more than a rice and beans meal. There is nutrition in every bag. Every serving of Tender Mercies has: • The calcium of one glass of milk• The iron of two and a half cups of spinach.• The potassium of two bananas.• The protein of 3 ounces of fish. With such a nutritious product, MFB wondere...

When people think about donating to Midwest Food Bank, they often think of the three Cs: Cash, Check, Credit card. While these three are very common, there are many ways to make a contribution to MFB. We understand our donors appreciate the opportunity to give in a variety of ways. To make it easy for donors, MFB has assembled instructions and insi...

We've all felt the pinch of rising food and gas prices. But for people who fall into the category of "food insecure," those prices create a budget where the math can't add up. It's not just a hunch that prices are rising. The Consumer Price Index shows an 8.8% increase in food prices in March 2022, the most significant 12-month advance since May 19...

There's a big machine in the Morton warehouse of Midwest Food Bank that produces nutritious meals - 10 million servings since 2013, to be exact. But it's the people around the machine that make it all happen. The machine packages Tender Mercies - a low-cost (20 cents per serving) and highly nutritious meal that includes rice, beans, protein, season...

The numbers say Midwest Food Bank gave about $430 million worth of food at no cost to about 2,100 food partners in the U.S. and around the world in 2021. That $430 million number represents the food those food partners receive from MFB - at no cost. That's a big deal as it allows them to use their money in other areas of their ministries - like fue...

School is out for summer, and kids will be at the swimming pool, ball diamond, riding bikes. And volunteering at Midwest Food Bank. Yep, kids love to spend their time volunteering, and MFB has many tasks that are just right for kids. Here is what a few of the younger volunteers at the Morton location have to say about service. "It makes me feel goo...

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...

Knowing about something and experiencing it firsthand are two different things. A community health course at Bradley University takes book knowledge to a real-life experience through a poverty simulation exercise. The class also connects the dots for students as they learn how food pantries and food banks work together and how those resources can h...