In a time of ever-growing need in Missouri, the Southeast Missouri Food Bank hosted a "Media Roundtable" on Thursday, July 31, to have a meaningful conversation about the organization and food insecurity in Southeast Missouri.
After several budget cuts, severe weather patterns, and the seasonal summer increase in need, many Missouri support organizations are struggling to connect people to the help they need.
Southeast Missouri Food Bank is working to bridge that gap, but they can't do it without the community's support.
Before the tour, we sat in with several team members at Southeast Missouri Food Bank, including Clay Schermann, Chief Development Officer; Heather Collier, Donor Relations & Communications Manager; and Jessica Espinoza, Programs Coordinator.
We learned that Southeast Missouri Food Bank serves 16 Missouri Counties—several of which are in the top twenty of the most food-insecure counties in the state of Missouri. Wayne, Pemiscot, Dunklin, Mississippi, and Carter counties are the top five most food-insecure counties in the State of Missouri, all in the Southeast Missouri Food Bank service area.
Most of this insecurity is felt by senior citizens and children in the area. According to Southeast Missouri Food Bank's 2024 Annual Report, "1 in 6 of our neighbors face hunger, according to the most recent Meal Gap report. 1 in 5 children and 1 in 8 seniors are food insecure."
Southeast Missouri Food Bank is working to solve this crisis with several community-centered programs such as the 'Commodity Supplemental Food Program Boxes' (commonly known as Senior Boxes) and 'Backpacks for Friday' (referred to as the BFF) initiatives.
The Senior boxes provide about 35 pounds of nutritious, shelf-stable food to recipients (who meet age and income guidelines) monthly; Southeast Missouri Food Bank was able to distribute 5,575 of these boxes that were packed solely by volunteers, according to their 2024 annual report. Senior citizens who rely on this aid are primarily from fixed-income households and without this support would likely have to choose between their medications and groceries.
The Backpacks for Fridays program served 1,119 students in 26 school districts, stocked with food for the weekend. Many children who live in food-insecure homes rely heavily on free school breakfasts and lunches, so these backpacks provide nutritious, kid-friendly food and beverages to get them through the weekend. These families and children are hit especially hard during the summer months, when food aid in the form of school breakfast and lunches is no longer available, making extra support from the Southeast Missouri Food Bank so vital to the health and safety of these families.
Other programs headed by the Southeast Missouri Food Bank include the 'Produce Prescription Program', funded through the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The Gus Schumacher Produce Prescription Program seeks to improve participants' overall health and well-being by providing easier access to fresh, healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables. The program is part of the Nutrition Incentive Program's Theory of Change, an innovative strategy that seeks to prove that food is medicine and, in doing so, increase the wellness and social determinants of health of all individuals within the communities they serve.
Additionally, Southeast Missouri Food Bank partners with the Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff to provide food-insecure veterans with supplemental food in the Veterans Healthy Food Surplus program.
The Southeast Missouri Food Bank also serves as a primary responder when disasters or emergencies occur in the region, like tornadoes, earthquakes, or a pandemic. Disasters can create desperate and immediate needs for basic items like food and water. Most of this is made possible through the government-funded programs such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Both of which have faced significant budget cuts as of late, so many centers, including Southeast Missouri Food Bank, can't always get the resources they need.
The real power behind Southeast Missouri Food Bank, we learned, comes from the community and volunteers. According to their numbers, 3,920 volunteers joined the Southeast Missouri Food Bank in 2024 in their Sikeston and Jackson volunteer centers, contributing a total of 10,515.16 hours of packing and sorting food for distribution and assisting with other special projects.
However, the food bank needs a total of 4,000 volunteers per year to tackle all the work they do for the community. These volunteers work in an assembly-line style to make the work faster and more efficient, after which they are wrapped and prepared for shipping or pickup.
To help reach this goal, Southeast Missouri Food Bank team members told us about their partnership with SEMO Athletics, partnering with several teams for various events. The events include:
- SEMO Men's Baseball for "Sack Hunger" during the Home Opener on September 6th.
- SEMO Women's Basketball for "Block Hunger" pending selection of a game.
- Possibly adding SEMO Women's Softball for "Strike Out Hunger".
- Possibly adding SEMO Men's Basketball for "Block Hunger".
Southeast Missouri Food Bank also partners with local farms and stores to provide fresh produce to Missouri residents facing food insecurity.
As we toured the warehouse fridges, we also learned about the many local partnerships Southeast Missouri Food Bank has with area farms and stores. Many stores like Walmart and Sam's Club will donate the 'close to sell-by' dated food, produce, and bakery items to the food bank. Area farms also contribute produce such as watermelons, eggs, and other perishables when they have the ability. Fresh produce is a constant need of the food bank, and essential to making a dent in Missouri food insecurity.
These essential partnerships, volunteer opportunities, and donations are what make it possible for the Southeast Missouri Food Bank to aid the community and serve the people's needs.
With such an increase in need, cuts to funding, and a number of severe, damaging weather events, Southeast Missouri Food Bank relies on the support of individuals and organizations in the community more than ever.
To learn more about these programs and how to help at the Missouri Food Bank, visit SEMOFoodBank.org.
