Southeast Missouri Food Bank's cost to fight 'food insecurity' rose in 2021

Southeast Missouri Food Bank, headquartered in Sikeston, with plans to open an 18,500-square-foot satellite facility in Jackson by mid-summer, spent $1.47 million purchasing food last year — a 60% increase over 2020, the not-for-profit said in a news release.

The notable increase in cost came despite serving fewer people in 2021 — approximately 70,000 per month — than during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

"The food bank was not immune to [rising food and gas] costs, but with the support of our donors, we were able to continue providing food to people facing hunger in Southeast Missouri," Joey Keys, SEMO Food Bank CEO, said in the release.

Data

The local food bank released the following numerical data about its work in 2021:

Lorence, a SEMO Food Bank warehouse associate, loads a pallet of food onto a weigh scale at the food bank's headquarters in Sikeston in this undated photo.Courtesy SEMO Food Bank

• Provided monthly boxes of food to 5,350 senior citizens.
• Partnered with 31 school districts to provide weekend backpacks of food to 1,200 students during the 36-week school year.
• Distributed 2.89 million pounds of fresh produce donated in part by local farmers and growers.
• Held 372 mobile food distributions, each assisting 200 families.
• Completed 984 SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) applications. SNAP was formerly known as food stamps.

Territory

SEMO Food Bank provides food to 140 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in 16 Southeast Missouri counties: Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard and Wayne.

Mission

SEMO Food Bank is affiliated with Feeding America, the nation's largest food bank network.

Feeding America defines "food insecurity" as "a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life," either temporarily or over an extended period.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 38 million people, including 12 million children, experience food insecurity in the United States.

In its mission statement, SEMO Food Bank said its purpose is to end hunger and leverage the "power of food" to build a healthy community.