What is the Farm to Food Bank program?
The Farm To Food Bank Program engages a network of farms in a partnership to provide families facing hunger with fresh, local produce and protein. Our Farm to Food Bank program makes it easy for local farmers to donate produce and livestock to hungry southeast Missourians. These farm donations help us supply good, nutritious food to food-insecure communities across our 16-county service area.
It’s difficult for some families to afford adequate supplies of fresh produce and protein. These items are also the most difficult and costly items for the food bank to obtain. Getting these items as donations from area farmers help us provide fresher, healthier foods to the families who visit our food pantries and mobile distributions. In some cases, incentives, such as tax credits and processing fees, are available.
We also may be able to provide product pickup using refrigerated equipment, and our state-of-the-art distribution center can handle large, palleted donations of items that need refrigerated and frozen storage. We can take items that may be misshapen, slightly blemished and close to expiration because we are able to move product quickly through our network of 140 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.
Farmers interested in partnering with the Southeast Missouri Food Bank can contact us at 573-471-1818 or email sminfo@semofoodbank.org.