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...
On September 5th, 2024, the City of Temple, Texas, honored Midwest Food Bank Texas with the Keys to the City in recognition of their swift and effective disaster relief following the EF-2 tornado that struck in May. This award reflects the critical role that Midwest Food Bank played in helping the community recover and highlights how teamwork and s...
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...
At Midwest Food Bank Texas, we're committed to enhancing our services. That's why we're excited to announce a new addition to our advisory board, Mark Steffen, a seasoned financial executive with extensive experience in construction and insurance. Mark has been instrumental in growth and strategy as the Chief Financial Officer at Core Construction ...
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...
Not everything is bigger in Texas, after all. Texas is the second-largest state in terms of landmass, trailing behind Alaska. And it's second in population, as well, behind California. Texas also follows behind California in terms of annual GDP. Here are five astonishing facts about Texas that will leave you scratching your head when you read the c...
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 ...
Farm kids learn early on the value of food and how it is produced. That was the case for Gareth Keown."Growing up on a farm, I learned the importance of contributing to food security and now have been given the opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of those that live daily in a food insecure state," says Gareth.In July, he joined th...
When you hear the name Opal Lee, especially in Texas, you pay attention. Opal has a way of making things happen through her humanitarian spirit and vision of making the world a better place for everyone.Opal is known as the grandmother of Juneteenth and her famous walk from Ft. Worth to Washington D.C. to campaign to make it a national holiday. At ...
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...
The Northeast Emergency District (NEED) is meeting the needs of the food-insecure population of Haltom City and Hurst, TX. MFB Texas is pleased to have them as a nonprofit agency partner. Anyone in need can come to NEED once a month for a cartload of groceries. Over 5,000 people take advantage of this help every year. In addition to food, once a ye...
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 ...
Midwest Food Bank Texas recently welcomed Roman Ray to the advisory board. Roman is a General Manager for Luby's, and finds community events in the Dallas/Ft. Wirth area for the company. He is focused on networking and building programs at Luby's to give back to the community, especially children. Homelessness is in R...
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...
In February, when a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, Police Officer Buddy Calzado wanted to help. It didn't matter that he was a police officer in Fort Worth, Texas. He knew that bottled water would be something in high demand.The FWPD collected a few pallets of water and also called on Midwest Food Bank Texas to see if they could donate add...
Midwest Food Bank values our donors, and we make effective use of every gift with integrity. We frequently receive questions about various ways to give to MFB, and one mechanism – IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution - is a way that benefits donors and MFB. Making an IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) You can donate up to $100,000 in...
Shirley Christensen worked as an Office Manager at a "close-knit, family-feel" organization. When a larger company bought out the business in 2011, dynamics changed, and she knew it was time to retire. It was a good decision as Shirley began "Gigi School," helping her granddaughter two days a week. It was a wonderful bonding time for them. Shirley ...
How Melanie Tennell became the new Marketing Director at MFB is a "God story." She felt a little unsettled in her previous position at Pekin Insurance when her former boss Jackie reached out to her. Jackie connected Melanie with her acquaintance, Jada Hoerr, MFB Chief Resource Officer. "God's timing prevails," says Melanie. "Every. Single. Tim...
Have you ever wondered what a nonprofit board does? Like all nonprofits, Midwest Food Bank is governed by a board of Directors. These twelve volunteers provide strategic and financial oversight for the organization. Additionally, each of the twelve MFB locations has an advisory board. While the employees lead the daily operations, the board pl...
