SOUTHEAST MISSOURI FOOD BANK

Hunger impacts kids in a variety of ways. Food insecure children don’t develop and grow as well as others. They may have difficulty learning and are more likely to get sick. The effects of child food insecurity are severe and can last a lifetime.
In Southeast Missouri, 1 out of every 4 children goes to bed hungry. This translates into 21,130 children. While schools offer Free and Reduced Breakfast and Lunch Programs, which provide children with food Monday through Friday, families often struggle to provide food during the weekends.
The BackPacks For Friday (BFF) Program responds to this need and provides food during the weekend when other resources are not available.

Accessing food is challenging, especially for families considered part of the “working poor.” The majority of food pantries are open during typical work week hours from 9 am–5 pm Monday through Friday.  

To respond to this need, most mobile distributions are held after 5 PM during the work week and on Saturdays, increasing clients' ability to access food and provide for themselves and their families.

An average of 200 families are served at each distribution. Truck to Table serves more than 35,000 Southeast Missouri families each year.

A Better Childhood (ABC) School Mobile Pantry serves students in the most impoverished counties with some of the highest rates of children enrolled in the Free Breakfast and Lunch Program in Missouri.

The goal is to provide an accessible source of food to hungry children at a familiar location and safe environment. In 2016, ABC went mobile and offered a truck to table distribution method. This increased participation by 189%.

Reaching children in need with monthly food
assistance increases food security and most
importantly, increases the likelihood of better
health and developmental outcomes resulting
in higher academic achievement.

TEFAP is a federal program that provides food commodities to Southeast Missourians in need of hunger relief.
1 in 5 Southeast Missouri households struggle with food insecurity.
Every year, TEFAP provides over 1 million pounds of nutritious food to food insecure households.

The Retail Store Donation Program secures nutritious food that is close-dated, slightly ripe, or perhaps too plentiful due to over production. Items include meat, dairy, vegetables, and fruit.

Walmart , Sam’s Club, Target, Food Giant, Aldi, and Kroger participate in this program that secures nutritious food that would otherwise go into a landfill. Donations are distributed to our member agencies and through the Truck to Table Mobile Program directly impacting thousands of individuals each week.
Annually, more than 3 million pounds of nutritious food was distributed through the Retail Store Donation Program.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps) is an important part of the solution to our community’s hunger crisis and necessary safety net for low-income individuals and families struggling during tough times.

SNAP helps the local economy by generating $9 in economic activity for every $5 of SNAP money spent.

Reliable access to food has a tremendous impact. Kids who benefit from food stamps graduate from high school 18% more often than children in similar circumstances who did not receive food stamps.

Each year, SEMO Food Bank assists more than 200 individuals with SNAP applications.