SEMO Food Bank opens new location

Earlier this year, the Southeast Missouri Food Bank expanded, opening a second location in Cape Girardeau County.

The food bank’s additional location provides increased storage capacity, specifically for disaster-relief items such as bottled water. It also adds a second volunteer center, where Backpacks for Friday kits will be packed and items from food drives will be sorted.

“As [food] prices increased over the last year, we’ve been serving more people,” said Joey Keys, SEMO Food Bank’s chief executive officer. “Having additional warehouse and volunteer space is really going to allow us to better serve our neighbors facing hunger. We’ll also be able to expand some of the programs we offer and focus on new food sourcing avenues.”

SEMO Food Bank, headquartered in Sikeston, serves 80,000 individuals each month across its 16-county service area through a network of 140 partner agencies and programs. Southeast Missouri has some of the highest rates of hunger in the state, with 1 in 6 families, 1 in 5 children and 1 in 8 seniors qualifying as food insecure.

For more information on SEMO Food Bank and how you can join the fight against hunger, visit semofoodbank.org.