What Is The Difference Between A Food Bank And A Food Pantry
A food bank has the capacity to distribute millions of pounds of grocery product every year. A FOOD PANTRY is an individual site that distributes bags or boxes of food directly to those in need who reside in a specified area. A food pantry is a member agency of, and obtains food from, a food bank.
Born In 1940 Gene Gonya Grew Up On The Family Farm In Ohio
At age 19, he became a Brother in the Jesuit Religious Community believing in their motto of “doing all for the greater honor and glory of God.”
In 1977, Gene chose to leave the Jesuit Community and continue his mission of community service as a lay person of the Catholic Church. In April of 1977, he co-founded Gleaners Community Food Bank, renting the first floor of a warehouse on Detroit’s near-eastside, a stone’s throw from the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. The food bank was founded to solicit surplus food, store it safely, and distribute it to agencies that are the direct providers to the hungry of our communities. The food bank could now accept donations such as truckloads of produce from Gene’s family farm and “bank” it for small or large organizations serving the community, since none of these service agencies could accept such large donations.
Gleaners was among the first food banks in the United States. Several years after founding Gleaners, Gene and a few other food banks founded Second Harvest, a national network of food bank members . Gene also helped found the Food Bank Council of Michigan.
Gene may have heard the Biblical story of Ruth and Naomi in his own home where family devotions were a part of daily life. He goes a step further than Boaz and does the gleaning for the poor. Due to his vision and management skills and boundless energy, numerous food banks and agencies have been organized to serve those in need.
Gleaners Food Bank Of Indiana Partners With Pha To Provide Health
Healthy Hunger Relief partner uses WellScan to rank over 75% of its inventory and launch its first-ever organizational nutrition policy to maximize the nutritional quality of food distributed
Through Partnership for a Healthier Americas Healthy Hunger Relief Program, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana has been granted support to purchase fresh produce and rank the nutritional quality of our inventory. This includes access to WellScan, a web-based app that scans the UPC code on food items and automatically calculates a nutrition ranking of Green/Choose Often, Yellow/Choose Sometimes, or Red/Choose Rarely. The ranking criteria come from the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System, and the app is designed to make nutrition ranking faster and more efficient for food banks and pantries.
Gleaners started using WellScan in December 2021 to replace our manual nutrition ranking process. Our warehouse receiving team uses the app on their smart phones to scan food items as they come in the door. They write the nutrition ranking for each item on a paper form with other product details. These forms then go to an inventory control staff member who adds the rankings into individual item cards in our inventory management software system . This allows the nutrition rankings to be visible to our agency partners when they order food from our food bank, as well as enables us to run reports on the nutritional quality of our inventory.
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Outfront Holiday Food Drive
At OUTFRONT. We help people, places, and business grow stronger.We, at OUTfront, are honored to donate space on our digital messaging resources to assist the Gleaners team with your amazing efforts to help the community throughout the year!This season, the OUTfront Detroit team has adopted Gleaners as our OUTGIVING Charity partner with a Holiday food drive in addition to ongoing support on our digital billboards.Thank YOU Gleaners, for your tireless work!!!
Gleaners Returning To Drive
INDIANAPOLIS Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana announced Monday that it is returning to drive-thru distributions, similar to what occurred during the pandemic.
Gleaners cited sustained increased need as the reason for the move.
The food bank says that the amount of residents being served is up 50% from the start of the year.
We dont make this decision lightly, said Fred Glass, Gleaners President/CEO. With winter approaching and wait times for our shoppers due to increased demand exceeding 2.5 hours, this was the right decision to best support the growing number of our neighbors in need.
Gleaners says they have neared double their daily capacity for in-person shopping causing long wait times and parking issues.
Our goal at all times is to offer a safe, respectful, and dignified experience for those we serve. The long wait and sometimes chaotic parking situation did not offer that experience, Glass said.
Gleaners will be open from 10 a.m. 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and 9 a.m. noon on Saturdays at their location at 3737 Waldemere Avenue.
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Community And Faith Groups
Clubs and groups are welcome to get involved, but because of workplace safety and liabilities and the small size of our warehouse, we cannot accommodate large groups or young children during regular morning hours of operation. No food sorting help is needed until after our Thanksgiving food drives email our manager at with your inquiry.
About Gleaners Food Bank
The food bank is a member of Feed Ontario and Food Banks Canada, and works closely with these organizations, local businesses, local farmers and food distributors to acquire donated food for the organization.
Gleaners Food Bank operates the Tri-County Warehouse, which serves seven other area food banks, numerous non-profit agencies and other organizations. The charity is run by volunteers who work hard year-round to serve those in need.
Thank you in advance for helping feed the hungry in our community.We wish you and yours a joyous holiday season!
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Double Your Donation Day: Make Twice The Difference When You Donate Tuesday To Gleaners
Double Your Donation Day: Fight hunger when you donate to Gleaners today
When you donate to Gleaners Community Food Bank on Oct. 12, your donation will make twice the difference.
DETROIT Your donation makes double the difference when you give money to Gleaners Community Food Bank on Tuesday.
Donations will be matched all day.
No amount is too small $1 provides six healthy meals.
Lilly Foundation Provides $50000 Donation To Gleaners Food Bank
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec 18, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/
In response to a recent challenge byMayor Greg Ballard for city businesses and organizations to increase supportfor local food drives, the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation today announced a$50,000 gift to Gleaners Food Bank. The donation will be used to purchase anddistribute food to Gleaners 400 hunger relief charities located in CentralIndiana.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that approximately 213,081 Hoosiers livein poverty throughout Gleaners 20-county service area. Nearly half areseniors and children. With the challenging economy, the number of familiesseeking food assistance at local food pantries is up 35 percent.
Lilly employees recently completed an annual food drive, held everyNovember, which supports two Gleaners distribution centers Billies FoodPantry and Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center. However, given the challengingeconomic circumstances, Lillys leadership had a desire to do more.
As the holidays approach and with the demand for basic assistancecontinuing to increase, we wanted to make an additional contribution to helpthose in need, said Robert Smith, president of the Lilly Foundation. We arehonored to support Gleaners and the critically important work they do for ourcommunity.
Information about how to donate food to Gleaners is available online atwww.gleaners.org/fooddrive.shtm or by calling 800-944-9166.
CR-LLY
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Creative Solutions For Ending Hunger
In instances where serious gaps in service exists, Gleaners has stepped in to develop creative solutions. For example, Gleaners works with schools to distribute weekend backpacks filled with nutritious food for children who rely on free or reduced-fee school meals during the week. To help people with mobility issues our Mobile Pantries go directly into the community to serve senior citizens and those with physical disabilities. One of our newest projects, Making Investments in the Lives of Kids , delivers fresh milkthe hardest item to get into the hands of low-income familiesdirectly to homes and area agencies for pick up.
Nerships That Provide Impact
Gleaners works with 500 partnersschools, churches, community organizations, hospitals, and other non-profit agenciesto identify hungry individuals and families and get them the assistance they need. Our process is particularly efficient with Gleaners purchasing perishable food items in bulk and using existing distribution pipelines service providers already working in the community. As a step beyond putting food into the hands of those who need it, Gleaners also teaches nutrition and cooking, raises awareness about hunger in the community, and promotes volunteerism and engagement with hunger issues in our region.
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As Visitors Flood Food Banks Volunteers Sought For All Times Of The Year
‘Our communities need relief’:Inflation is driving political talking points and policy debates
Leadership at the food bank said they always see the most volunteers in November and December, which they attribute to widespread sentiments of holiday spirit when metro-area residents are most easily able to donate hours and resources to charitable causes.
In fact, when Kage looked at the food banks website to sign up for December volunteer shifts during an interview with The Oklahoman, he noticed most weekends for that month were already at or near full capacity.
But he expects a steep decline in volunteers for January and February, because its what happens every year.
Its very unfortunate, because hunger doesnt take a break, Kage said. Hunger is with us throughout the year.
Dykstra said this consistent drop in volunteering is likely due to the squeeze people often feel directly following the holidays, after spending is at its highest and the year-end intervals of vacation time are offered by schools and employers.
The holidays are expensive, and are using any extra money theyve got because they want to give, Dykstra said. These are all giving, loving people, you know? But then you find yourself in January and February, where there isnt any extra money, so if something goes wrong, theres an immediate crisis.
To Dykstra and Kage, this translates to heightened need at the start of the year, but with fewer resources.
What Is Gleaners Food Bank
Asked by: Keshawn Bechtelar
Gleaners is a vital link between available food and those who need it most. With five distribution centers across southeast Michigan, Gleaners is devoted to getting surplus food and donate items directly to our partners, saving their organizations time and money so they can focus on better serving their communities.
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We Believe Hunger Can Be Solved
We believe people are worth investing in.
We believe child and hunger are two words that should never go together.
We believe everyone benefits from a hunger-free community.
We believe real change takes courage.
We believe complex problems take collaborative solutions.
We believe in the dignity of every person in the community.
We believe good data enables better decisions.
Gleaners provides food to more than 600 partner soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and other agencies across the region, and supplements efforts of those partners by offering direct service drive-up grocery and food box distributions. In its fiscal year 2021, Gleaners distributed a record-breaking 71.4 million pounds of food to neighbors in need. Every dollar donated provides three meals and 94 cents of every donated dollar goes to food and food programs. For more information, visit gcfb.org.
Wait A Minute I Know What A Food Drive Is But What’s A Virtual Food Drive
Gleaners leads the way in innovating new and creative ways for individuals and companies to feed their hungry neighbors.
Leveraging an ecommerce-like experience, our Virtual Food Drive system provides you or your company with a platform that raises funds without the need of bags, boxes, and trucks!
Virtual Food Drives are an easy way to engage multiple divisions within your organizations, and even provide an opportunity for “food fight” competitions between different companies!
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Our Vision Is To End Hunger In Southeast Michigan
Gleaners is committed to distributing nutritious, high-quality food to people in need. In collaboration with our partner agencies, the Feeding America network, and our program partners, Gleaners is driving new solutions to improve the health and well-being of our entire community.
Everyone wins when hunger is solved. When we achieve food security, every positive outcome becomes more likelyfrom higher graduation rates to increase job retention to better patient health.
Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation Donates $10000 To Food Banks Serving Indianapolis And Central Indiana
Irving, TX and Indianapolis, IN The Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation and WXIN-TV FOX 59 and WTTV-TV CBS4, the Nexstar Media Inc. television stations serving Indianapolis and Central Indiana, announced today that the Foundation will donate $5,000 each to two food banks serving the area: Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana and Midwest Food Bank of Indiana. The donations are part of the Pack the Pantries project, conducted by the television stations annually to help local food pantries stock their shelves. The donations will be used to help each food bank continue providing vitally needed food and supplies to families and fight food insecurity throughout central Indiana.
Serving 21 counties across central and southern Indiana and operating the states largest food pantry, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana has been leading the fight against hunger in Indiana since 1980. They distribute food to hungry Hoosiers through a network of nearly 300 partner agencies, including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.
Midwest Food Bank currently distributes nearly $36 million worth of food to over 2,050 non-profits each month. They stand ready for disaster relief efforts and can get food-filled relief boxes to those in need, within 24 hours. In 2021, they distributed over $430 million worth of food.
CONTACT:EVP and Chief Communications OfficerNexstar Media Group, Inc.
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Places To Donate Food
There are food recipient organizations across the country. The following sites offer tools to help donors find nearby food banks, pantries, soup kitchens and shelters that may accept wholesome, excess food.
- Feeding America is a national network of food banks, individuals, national offices, and corporate and government partners working to combat hunger in the U.S. Use the Find Your Local Food Bank tool to locate food programs by state or zip code.
- Ample Harvest is a nationwide effort to educate, enable, and encourage gardeners to donate extra produce to local food pantries. Use their Find a Pantry tool to donate food you grow or buy.
- The Homeless Shelter Directory is a crowdsourced listing for people who want to find and donate food and/or supplies to their local shelter.
Contact Us:
Where Can I Donate Food In Troy Mi
Troy Free Food and Food Pantries
- Fellowship Lutheran Church. 35537 Ryan Rd.
- Salvation Army Royal Oak. 3015 N.
- Gods Helping Hands of Michigan. 2191 Avon Industrial Dr.
- St. Vincent de Paul South Oakland Food Depot.
- New Hope Outreach Ministries Food Pantry.
- Open Hands Food Pantry.
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Sponsor A Shopping Cart
Designed to give our hungry neighbors the feel of shopping in a grocery store, each shopping cart is an important part of the Community Cupboard. Shopping carts help families receive shelf stable grocery items, as well as healthy fruits and vegetables from our Produce Hope initiative.
Sponsor a shopping cart with the support of your family and friends. A customizable placard will be placed on the cart, acknowledging your gift to Gleaners and the community. Carts will be sponsored for the duration of one year. or contact Sarah Estell, Senior Director of Communication & Digital Strategy, at 829-1765. *A limited number of carts are available.
Gleaners Food Bank Looks To Generate Donations For 1 Million Gallons Of Milk
Taylor Bennett
Joe Slater, COO/CFO of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, says a new campaign centers around the idea of “Winners Give Milk, and encourages people to donate money to buy gallons of milk.
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana hopes to raise awareness of food insecurity throughout central Indiana with its No One Runs on Empty campaign.
Joe Slater, COO/CFO of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, said the campaign centers around the idea of “Winners Give Milk, and encourages people to donate money to buy gallons of milk.
For people that are food insecure in our community that rely on food pantries and food assistance, they receive on average about two gallons of milk per household per year, Slater said.
Gleaners hopes to reach one million gallons of milk in 2022, and its goal for May is to fund 16,500 gallons of milk equal to 500 gallons per driver in the Indianapolis 500.
Food insecurity is a higher indicator than income for the prevalence of the top chronic diseases and conditions facing many,” Slater said. Dairy, specifically milk, is a big need for families we serve.
The Winners Give Milk campaign wraps up in June, designated as National Dairy Month.
Hoosiers can learn more by texting MILK to 55433 or visit the Gleaners website.
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How Can I Get Free Food In Indianapolis
Find a food pantry or meal site