A truckload of 40,000 pounds of food was delivered Wednesday to the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri — enough to feed 100 people three meals a day until March.
Columbia was among the first five stops in a network of food deliveries to 250 food banks around the country over the next year, an effort organized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The other initial deliveries were in Oregon, Michigan, Arkansas and Texas.
The project is a collaboration with America250, an initiative conducting a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Marybeth Bohn, the communications director for the Church’s Columbia Stake, said that this food bank was selected over larger cities because of its 32-county service area and its proximity to Jefferson City.
“The Church wanted to focus first on state capitals,” she said.
The government shutdown and the loss of SNAP benefits did not affect the timing of the food shipments, and organizers said they were grateful.
“It is coming at the perfect time for the Food Bank and for those we serve,” said Lindsay Young Lopez, president and CEO of the Food Bank.
According to data from earlier this month, the Food Bank has been seeing increased demand because of the loss of SNAP benefits. This compounds the surge that usually happens around the holidays.
“We’re serving approximately 20% more people than we usually serve during November,” said Katie Adkins, the Food Bank’s chief communications officer.
Adkins said the food that they received was nutritious and diverse, so there are several options for those in need to choose from.
Contents in each truck included a variety of canned fruits, vegetables and meats, pasta, flour, pancake mix and dried milk. Most of the goods are produced by the Church and funded by Church member donations.
“To provide that nourishment for people helps them live a better life in so many ways,” Bohn said. “It allows a child to study, it allows somebody to learn, it allows somebody to focus on paying their bills.”
