Missouri’s Hannibal. 40,000 lunches will be given to Hannibal citizens in need thanks to a $10,000 contribution from the Riedel Foundation. Harvest Outreach, the Salvation Army, and Douglass Community Services will stock their shelves with the food, which is distributed by The Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri.
One in seven people in Marion County are food insecure, according to the most recent data from Feeding America.
According to a press statement from The Food Bank’s Kate Pankey, this indicates that more than 4,000 people in the county do not regularly have access to the quantity of wholesome food required to lead active, healthy lives. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are associated with long-term food insecurity in adults. It can cause behavioral problems, health problems, and subpar academic performance in kids.
In Marion County, the Food Bank provided 925,000 pounds of food last year. That’s almost 740,000 dinners. The Food Bank can make more money than local pantries because it can buy in bulk and accept donations via the Feeding America network. The Food Bank is able to convert every $1,000 in financial contributions into about 4,000 meals of food because to its purchasing power and capacity to acquire truckloads of donated food.
According to Michael Gaines, a trustee for Riedel, this is a practical method of putting food on the tables of those in Hannibal who need it the most.
