Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Inc.

The Commodity Supplemental Food Programs (CSFP) is a federally funded program that works to improve the health of low-income elderly people at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods. The Food bank received food for more than 700 total boxes each month, which are packed by volunteers and distributed to agencies serving seniors. Examples of food included through CSFP are rice, oats, juice, canned vegetables, dry beans, and cereals.

The Senior Meals Program provides nutritious meals to help seniors live healthier and more nourished lives in their own homes. Through our partnerships, meals are prepared in our Community Kitchen. The meals are either delivered to community centers or picked up by partners for delivery to homebound seniors on a daily basis.

Senior Markets are a new initiative where healthy, nutritious food is provided to low-income seniors residing in larger apartment and housing complexes. volunteers and staff of a senior housing complex work to distribute food to seniors that reside on-site in an effort to assist these seniors with difficult choices, like paying for rent versus paying for food. Cooking demonstrations, nutrition tips, and benefits outreach also help to provide additional resources to seniors through this model.

The Benefits Outreach Department assists clients with the application process for public benefits and helps connect them to hot meals, food pantries, and produce distributions in their neighborhoods. In addition, this team directs clients to other community partners that help address employment, housing, and health care issues - the three most common causes of food insecurity. Outreach Counselors are out in the community on a daily basis to help people in-person. The Food Bank also houses the only Help Center in the state that helps low-income community members apply for food (SNAP/Food Stamps), cash, and other forms of assistance over the phone. The Help Center can be reached at 216.738.2067.

Produce distributions are a method of direct community delivery where a Greater Cleveland Food Bank truck, full of fruit and vegetables, is brought to a central location for area clients. These same-day distributions are managed by a variety of partners and agencies, including faith-based organizations, community centers, schools, residential housing, senior centers, health care centers, and more. Produce distributions are available year-round to our entire service region. These "pop-up" markets occur on a monthly basis and supply the healthiest, most nutritious food at the Food Bank. From apples and beets, to watermelon and zucchini, the Food Bank provides a wide variety of produce.

Our "Food as Medicine" initiative is intended to improve health outcomes of our clients with food-related health challenges. This program is a collaborative project that involves health care facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers. Through a combination of healthy produce distributions, targeted clinical care, nutrition education, and other community resources, the Food as Medicine program eliminates some of the key barriers to improved health and well-being, such as a lack of access to healthy food.

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank Kitchen is a licensed and inspected full-service production kitchen. A professional staff, with the support of volunteers, prepares meals for over 100 agencies and program across the Food Bank's service area. Meals are provided to child nutrition programs, senior congregate and home-delivered meal programs, and member agencies serving meals to their communities. Offering menu options that emphasize nutrition, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank Kitchen produces well over 6,500 meals per day, increasing production during the busy summer months.

Our partner pantry programs provide three-day supplies of food to families to take home. many of these pantries distribute food via the Client Choice model. This preferred method allows clients to select items that best fir their family's needs, instead of receiving a pre-packed bag of food. Pantry partners order the food they need from our shopping list for pick up or delivery.

Our partner hot meal programs prepare food on-site for individuals and families to enjoy. each site must be equipped with a kitchen and appropriate spaces to serve the meal. All hot meal sites are able to order food off of our main shopping list, as well as meals prepared by our kitchen.