Lina Martin is a new employee at Midwest Food Bank Georgia, but she is not new to MFB. She will serve as the Volunteer Coordinator in Georgia. Shortly after MFB Georgia opened in 2011, Lina started volunteering. She helped on food distribution days and then became trained to lead volunteer groups. She also worked for a food partner that receives fo...

Midwest Food Bank Peoria would like to welcome and introduce two people that have recently joined our advisory board. Roopa Foulger is the Vice President of Data Delivery at OSF Healthcare. She learned about MFB during a lunch she attended with her husband. The couple now supports MFB as Share Partners - a recurring giving program. Roopa ...

When busy work schedules and family life started to slow down and transition to the next phase, Brent and Jeanne Reddish decided to look for a place to share their time. That search led them to Midwest Food Bank Morton after talking with Gib Rapp, an active board member for MFB East Africa. "Gib's passion and information about MFB gave us...

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 ...

Dan Bahler enjoys driving a semi. It's a skill he learned in the 1980s and has trained many drivers since then. On a 5th-generation family dairy farm in Ellington, he honed his driving skills. Now, he's doing something he enjoys while benefiting those in need by driving for Midwest Food Bank New England. "After my first ride with Dan, I h...

Opened last December, MFB New England continues to build a team that will serve people throughout the region. A new member of the team is Montique "Mo" Cotton Kelly. Mo brings 24 years of experience in higher education and is the Vice President - Alumni Relations, Annual Giving and Communications at the University of Connecticut Foundation. Sh...

The three Central Illinois locations of Midwest Food Bank enjoyed the opportunity to share our mission with the community while raising funds. Taste and Tour is just what it sounds like: a great Taste-ing meal after a Tour of MFB. Taste and Tour 2021 was held on August 21 at the Bloomington-Normal, Morton, and Peoria MFB locations. Between 4 and 7 ...

Cereal and related products (granola and breakfast bars) are great things for Midwest Food Bank to give to our partner nonprofits. They are shelf-stable, appeal to all ages, and support three of our main programs: Food for Nonprofits, Disaster Relief, and Hope Packs. In the past, we would purchase these products. That's one reason we are so thankfu...

Midwest Food Bank has been actively responding to disasters in 2021. Hurricanes Henri and Ida are the latest opportunities MFB has had to support disaster victims in the US. Hurricane Ida formed on August 23, a notable date in hurricane history. Midwest Food Bank began offering Disaster Relief with Hurricane Katrina, which formed on the same date i...

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...

Thank you to the Anthem Foundation and Simply Healthcare Foundation for their generous gift of $20,000 towards our Food Relief-Partner Pantry Program. As a new donor to Midwest Food Bank Florida, we are grateful for their support and community partnership as we work together to execute and expand our food relief mission. Simply Healthcare Foundatio...

Welcome to Midwest Food Bank Florida summer intern, Sydney MacNeill. She is studying Communications and Public Relations at Florida Gulf Coast University. "I'm excited to get hands-on experience while working for an organization that helps people in time of need," says Sydney. Sydney also works as a waitress. In her free time, she en...

Who better to lead an addiction-recovery program than someone who has been through the program himself? That is the case for Anthony Thompson, Director of Saul to Paul Ministries of Ellettsville, Indiana.  Saul to Paul is a 7-month residential discipleship program for men dealing with addictions. The men are "flooded with the Word of God"...

Kapu Africa (Midwest Food Bank East Africa) likes to serve spiritual food with physical food. It's made possible because of partnerships with churches and government agencies in East Africa. During the last six months, Kapu Africa has worked alongside My Father's House church and local government to distribute food to people that live in pover...

When Midwest Food Bank Florida was asked to host a group of elementary students this spring our answer was, "Yes, please!"  The local Business Networking International group organized a volunteer day with a local elementary school in May. Students, parents, and BNI members arrived at MFB Florida and were greeted by lead volunteers Deborah...

June 6, 2021, was the first day of Ken White's employment at Midwest Food Bank Florida. He is our new Community Relations Manager. Ken brings 15 years of nonprofit experience to the position, including leadership roles in other food banks. Most recently, he was with Lighthouse Ministries of Lakeland, FL. Ken is looking forward to bri...

On a warm morning in June, 125 runners and walkers from all over gathered at Midwest Food Bank Georgia for the very First Annual Miles for Midwest 5K. In a sea of blue Miles for Midwest 5K shirts, there were laughter, hugs, and excitement. The crowd was welcomed with opening remarks from Executive Director, Will Garner and assembled at the start li...

Midwest Food Bank volunteers have all kinds of passions, talents, and interests. When they bring those to MFB, great things happen. In 2020, Heidi Cerrigione retired from Oakridge Dairy as their Office Manager/Bookkeeper. Her employment history includes banking, lending, real estate appraisal, and bookkeeping for several businesses. She has al...

Starving college student. We've probably all used that phrase. It conjures up stereotypical images of a young man or woman making ramen noodles over a hotplate. The thought makes us smile. For some, the phrase is not a stereotype. Nor is it something to smile about. Based on school and location, food insecurity rates on college and university ...

At a Collingsworth Family concert, Jim and Ardell Swezey heard about Midwest Food Bank for the first time. After a 2-hour volunteer session repackaging bulk food at MFB Peoria, Jim and Ardell knew they found their place to serve.  They began volunteering on Wednesdays until they were both retired. Now they are at MFB most aftern...