FOOD YOU CAN BANK ON

SIKESTON -- Dorene Johnson heads up a bank, but not the monetary sort. Her currency is food and lots of it.

As executive director of the Bootheel Food Bank, Johnson administers an operation that last year distributed 5.3 million pounds of food to the hungry in Southeast Missouri by way of church pantries, senior citizen centers and other charitable groups.

The total amount distributed included more than 2 million pounds of food, which went to flood victims, said Johnson.

Johnson, who has headed the food bank since its inception in December 1985, finds her job rewarding.

"I have always been active in helping to feed the needy, and I am concerned about people who are hungry and hurting.

"I just love my job because it helps to reach the people who need the help," she said. "I believe we have made a big difference in eliminating hunger in Southeast Missouri."

Before the food bank was established, pastors lamented that their churches "never had enough to meet the demands of the needy people who were coming to them," recalled Johnson.

Since opening its doors less than a decade ago, the food bank has grown dramatically.

The food bank distributed 10,000 pounds of food in 1985, 500,000 pounds in 1986, and by 1988, it was distributing more than 1 million pounds of food.

The amount of food distributed has continued to climb. In 1992, the food bank distributed more than 3.5 million pounds of food.

The food bank started out at a site at 526 S. Main in Sikeston, but soon had to move.

"We were only at the first location for six months, until we had three truck loads of food coming in and nowhere to go with it," Johnson said.

Pepsi-Cola stepped in and offered the use of its vacant warehouse for about 10 months. The food bank then moved to 320 N. West St. in Sikeston.

Then in August 1987, Pepsi-Cola donated its empty Sikeston warehouse to the food bank, and the operation has been housed there ever since.

The 10,000-square-foot warehouse stands in stark contrast to the food bank's original facility, which encompassed only 1,800 square feet.

The old Pepsi warehouse can house a lot of food. Generally, the food bank has some 500,000 to 800,000 pounds of food on hand at any one time. The food bank uses a computer to keep track of its sizable inventory.

Last year's flood relief efforts forced the food bank to expand into the old Kmart building, across the street from the food bank. "We are still using it," said Johnson.

The food bank's work force of eight full-time employees was expanded last year to include four part-time workers. "These are paid people. We also have some volunteers," said Johnson.

"There are 250 major wholesalers that distribute to our food bank and other food banks," she said. They include the big companies like Procter and Gamble and Kraft.

But the bulk of the food comes from the federal commodities program.

Everything from pork to beef and canned corn to canned fruit is distributed by the food bank to over 200 charitable organizations in a 16-county area, comprising Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Ste. Genevieve, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne counties.

Those agencies in turn dispense the food free to the needy. In Cape Girardeau County alone, the food bank distributes food to 23 agencies, Johnson said.

"We help over 8,000 families a month," said Johnson. In all, about 26,000 people a month are aided by the food bank, she said.

Many of those helped are people who have lost their jobs, such as victims of factory closings.

"This is meeting the needs of people who otherwise would fall through the cracks of the social service programs," she said. "I don't believe there is any reason for anyone to go hungry."

Johnson said that "under the right circumstances, hunger and homelessness could be eliminated in the United States.

"The resources are available, but many times they are misused and mis-assigned," she said.

The Bootheel Food Bank operates as a non-profit corporation, governed by a 12-member board of directors.

Johnson said the food bank depends on minimal charges, grants, donations and fundraisers to pay for its operations.

"We charge 14 cents a pound to our agencies for the food," said Johnson. That's a good deal because the food itself is worth $2.17 a pound, she said.

"We get some federal money for distribution of commodities," said Johnson.

The food bank was honored in January with a Victory Against Hunger Award, presented by U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau.

Johnson is proud of the national award, which was accompanied by a $1,000 grant. The award was one of only nine such awards given nationwide.

"We are just doing our best every day to feed the hungry," said Johnson. "We don't do it to win awards."

Too often, she said, "it is easy to ignore the problems of poverty until they come close to our own home or community. It is easy to make excuses about hunger, unless we are personally confronted with the problem."