FOOD FINDERS FOOD BANK INC
Fight Hunger, Give Hope
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
65,000 families, children, seniors, and veterans in our service area are facing hunger.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
BackPack Program
Compared to the general population, children have the highest risk of struggling with hunger – and suffer the most devastating short-and long-term consequences. Many local children that receive free or reduced-price meals at school through federal nutrition programs struggle with hunger on weekends and breaks. Food Finders’ BackPack Program provides backpacks full of nutritious, easy-to-prepare food to school-age children on Friday afternoons throughout the school year. The program ensures that children who receive free and reduced-price lunches at school during the week have adequate nutritious food for the weekend. Currently, the program serves over 5,000 children in 16 counties each week during the school year.
Agency Partner Program
Food Finders’ flagship initiative is its role as the largest source of food for a network of more than 100 hunger relief agencies, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters, among others. These agencies are a vitally important piece of the hunger relief system – they are a consistent source of free groceries and meals for hungry families within their communities, and often offer additional services or referral mechanisms to additional public and private sources of support. Through their partnership with the food bank, these agencies provide the most cost-effective method of large-scale food distribution. In FY22, Food Finders distributed more than 4.5 million pounds of food and household products to these agencies.
Mobile Pantry Program
Mobile Pantries are designed to increase access to nutritious food in underserved communities that lack sufficient access to other food resources, such as food pantries. These one-day, targeted distributions, operated by the food bank in collaboration with partner organizations, provide groceries and household goods directly to food insecure families. Mobile pantries are particularly important in addressing hunger in rural communities, where food pantries and soup kitchens are small or nonexistent. In FY22, Food Finders distributed over 2.6 million pounds of food to more than 40,000 families in North Central Indiana.
Education Program
Food Finders’ education classroom hosts 20 classes each month. Classes offered fall into four main categories: Health & Wellness, Nutrition, Financial Literacy, and Job & Career Skills. Food Finders also regularly hosts the Cooking Matters series throughout the year.
Food Finders Fresh Market
Formerly the J.P. Lisack Community Food Pantry, Food Finders Fresh Market Pantry moved to a former grocery store in October of 2020 to allow for proper social distancing amidst the ongoing pandemic. The Fresh Market sees an average of 700 households each day it is open. The choice pantry is set up like a grocery store and allows clients to choose the foods that they take home. The Fresh Market provides non-perishable goods as well as frozen protein, fresh produce, dairy, eggs and culturally relevant food items.
Senior Grocery Program
Food Finders offers free home grocery delivery to qualifying seniors in select counties. This program provides groceries; including protein, dairy, and fresh produce. More than 500 boxes are delivered each month.
Resource Coordination + SNAP Outreach
Resource Coordinators help connect neighbors to resources in the community such as SNAP application assistance, healthcare, childcare assistance, job training, employment, and more.
Where we work
Awards
4-star 2017
Charity Navigator
2017 Top-rated nonprofit 2017
GreatNonprofits
4-star 2018
Charity Navigator
4-star 2019
Charity Navigator
2018 Top-rated nonprofit 2018
GreatNonprofits
2019 Top-rated nonprofit 2019
GreatNonprofits
2020 Top-rated nonprofit 2020
GreatNonprofits
Affiliations & memberships
AIB International, Inc. 2018
AIB International, Inc. 2019
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of groups brought together in a coalition/alliance/partnership
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Families, Veterans
Related Program
Agency Partner Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Food Finders Fresh Market
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Households (duplicated) served through the Fresh Market Pantry.
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Education Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of families served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Mobile Pantry Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of households served through Mobile Pantry program.
Number of referrals to resources offered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Education Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of people connected to community resources through our Resource Coordination Program.
Hours of volunteer service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of volunteer hours served.
Total number of classes offered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Education Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of classes offered at the Food Resource & Education Center.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Number of meals distributed to our neighbors facing hunger.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is to end hunger in North Central Indiana across all populations.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies for ending hunger are our programs such as our BackPack Program, Mobile Pantry Program, Fresh Market Pantry, Senior Grocery, Education Program, Resource Coordination and Agency Partner Program. Our bold goal for 2025 is to distribute 15 million pounds of food. According to Feeding America's calculations, this should eradicate hunger in our service area.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 2023, Food Finders distributed more than 12 million pounds of food or more than 10 million meals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2023, Food Finders distributed 12 million pounds of food to the 16 counties we serve. In 2022, our goal is to distribute 12.8 million pounds of food to people in need, and we are on track to meet that goal.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
FOOD FINDERS FOOD BANK INC
Board of directorsas of 02/23/2024
Mr. Jenny Bay
Purdue University
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: