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Can you imagine what it would feel like to be a child in a family struggling to make ends meet? “I grew up poor, and we didn’t have a lot,” shared Brad McGriff, Duke Energy line worker. “We were the recipients of Thanksgiving baskets. That meant a lot back then, and when I found out we could do something here, I was all for trying to help out as much as I can. It goes a long way.” Growing up with very little taught Brad that giving back is important.

This November, the Duke Energy Foundation provided a $50,000 grant to Food Finders Food Bank to purchase and distribute food for families in Tippecanoe and six surrounding counties in the shared service area. At the Presidential Signature Service Event, Duke Energy In Action at Food Finders, employees and retirees came together to give back to the community. They packed a total of more than 2,670 holiday food boxes with 1,400 going to agency partners and the remainder going to BackPack Program students in Tippecanoe County. Additionally Duke staffed and supplied a mobile pantry in Tippecanoe and Clinton counties, packed fresh apples and pasta, and stocked the J.P. Lisack Community Food Pantry with fresh produce, meat, dairy, and bread.

“It’s very rewarding and humbling as well,” McGriff shared about his experience volunteering with Food

Winter 2017

www.Food-Finders.org765.471.0062

1204 Greenbush StreetLafayette, IN 47904

FOODTHOUGHT

FOR

Duke Energy Indiana President, Melody Birmingham-Byrd, distributing

holiday food bags at Vinton Elementary during the signature event

in November.

In her role at Duke, one of Birmingham-Byrd’s many responsibilities is to organize events to benefit the community. Duke Energy in Action, the Presidential Signature Service Event, is a way to help support individuals and families in need. “I’m an example that you have people in need,” she stated. “Not to say that that need will exist for a lifetime, but at some point in our lives, we all need assistance. Food Finders was there for me when I needed assistance, and for that, I thank you.” “By helping individuals and families, I see it as enabling those individuals to help others in the future.” -Melody Birmingham-Byrd, Duke Energy Indiana President

When asked what kept her going during her college years, she shared, “I was encouraged by my hardworking parents. I knew that if I continued to work hard, that I would be able to provide for myself and, at some point, give back to others.”

The holidays can be a rough time for many families in our community. With your help, Food Finders and other community partners like Duke Energy are here to support people in need.

Finders. “At this point in my life, I’m very blessed and fortunate that I don’t need the assistance. I know that there are a lot of people out there that the holidays are a rough time. I want to do what I can do to help out because I was there once too.”

McGriff isn’t the only Duke Energy employee who has used food assistance programs. Duke Energy of Indiana President, Melody Birmingham-Byrd, benefited from the food bank when she was a full-time Purdue student studying Technology in Organizational Leadership and Supervision. “As a full-time student, working one to two jobs, and trying to pay for my own living expenses, I wasn’t always able to meet all of the expenses,” she shared of her struggles as an undergrad.

One of Birmingham-Byrd’s classmates who grew up in Lafayette told her about Food Finders. The two young college students visited and were connected with food resources in the community. “It was a blessing to have an organization that was available to me. It was there to bridge a gap when I wasn’t able to afford food for the entire month. What I received from the food bank was good, quality and nutritious food options,” she explained.

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Thanks to our community support, we are proud to report the following statistics after our first year of programming at the Food Resource & Education Center (FREC):

J.P. Lisack Community Food Pantry• Served more than 6,000

households 1.2 million pounds of fresh produce, meat, dairy and non-perishable food items

• Although our clients have the option to shop daily, on average, they shop nine times per year

I recently gave a talk, for one of our Nourish and Knowledge luncheons, about the book Toxic Charity. The staff at Food Finders selected this topic because over the past year we have been asked about this book many times. The book makes some good points but much of it is an unfair and negative portrayal of social service agencies and of low-income people.

The author, Robert Lupton, believes that handing out food and providing for the basic needs of low-income families keeps them in poverty. The book claims that traditional food pantries hurt those they purport to help and food co-ops that require low-income people to work or pay for food are the answer.

Our experience in our first full year of operating the food pantry is that a large number of our clients are working one or two jobs. Requiring these pantry clients to volunteer their limited time in order to obtain food is counterproductive. Among the clients who do not work are many who face huge challenges such as mental illness or another

disability, advanced age, or a skills gap in reading, math, or technology. Creating additional barriers to food assistance for these vulnerable people will simply increase hunger in our community.

A relatively small number of our clients have made choices that have led to their need for assistance. More often, they were born into poverty and have not had anyone to help them with the inevitable hardships in life: car wrecks, surgeries, divorce, layoffs.

The best thing about Toxic Charity is that it provides an opportunity to discuss the assumptions made by people with higher incomes about those who live with poverty.

Sincerely,

Katy O’Malley BunderPresident/CEO

Seniors struggling with food insecurity experience unique challenges. Special dietary requirements make it difficult to use traditional food resources. Currently serving more than 650 seniors a month, FFFB will begin partnering with the USDA in January to bring the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to low-income senior citizens in Howard, Jasper, Pulaski and Tippecanoe counties, as part of the food bank’s long-term strategy to reduce senior hunger.

CSFP works to improve the health of low-income senior citizens by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA Foods. FFFB will continue its Senior Grocery Program while transitioning each county to CSFP as state funding allows. CSFP allows FFFB to offer healthier food options and more food to seniors facing hunger than the food bank could on its own. This program will provide registered seniors with monthly prescription food boxes containing 20-40 pounds of non-perishable food items and cheese.

For more information, contact Program Coordinator, Courtney Sloan at 765.471.0062 x209.

Food Resource & Education Center Update

Katy’s Corner

Education• Offered 249 education classes to

nearly 2,500 participants

Resource Coordination• Clients who met with a Resource

Coordinator at least four times showed a 32 percent increase in food security and 42 percent increase in their own self-sufficiency

View the entire FREC Impact Report on our website for additional detail and future plans.

s e n i o r g r o c e r y

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Did you know that Food Finders distributes food to the most rural areas of North Central Indiana through the Mobile Pantry Program? In fiscal year 2017, Food Finders distributed 1.8 million pounds, or 1.5 million meals through the Mobile Pantry Program alone. The food truck visits each of the 16 counties in Food Finders’ service area at least once a month to feed children, families, seniors, and veterans who have no idea where they will get their next meal.

While the program provides one of the most efficient ways for the food bank to distribute food in rural areas where there are few emergency food resources, it is also costly to operate. Ensuring that a mobile pantry reaches each

2017 UpdateM o b i l eP a n t r Y

S u p p o r t

“Thank you, Food Finders. Thanks for the delicious watermelon.” -Marissa, SFSP child

When children are out of school, so are free school lunches. Every year, summer break creates an area-wide crisis among food insecure households – putting pressure on families to provide five to 10 addi-tional meals per child each week, and often increasing financial obligations for additional child-care. Children in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) are grateful for the extra food and love they receive.

Food Finders served more than 38,000 meals and snacks this sum-mer in Benton, Cass, Fountain, Newton, Pulaski, and Tippecanoe Counties. We are grateful to all of the site sponsors and volunteers

S u m m e r f o o d S e r v i c e p r o g r a macross these communities who partnered with us to make this program a success - thank you!

Thank you to the following foundations, businesses and organizations who provided significant financial contributions to the food bank from July to November of 2017. City of Lafayette $99,960 The Duke Energy Foundation $53,080Robert Henry Perkins Irrevocable Trust $40,066Caterpillar Foundation $36,161Scheumann Foundation Inc. $32,000Walmart Foundation $27,275Monsanto Fund $14,000The Community Foundation of Greater Lafayette – Olson Community Endowment Fund $12,734 Tipton County Foundation $11,950Neuhoff Media $11,392Cargill Lafayette $10,000Disney $10,000Friends of Downtown, Inc. $10,000Lafayette Life $10,000Red Nose Day $10,000Wintek Corporation $9,960Indiana Young American $8,000Central Indiana Community Foundation $7,500Fleet Feet Sports $5,358Susan’s Freeman Bay $5,268Alfred J. McAllister & Dorothy N. McAllister Foundation $5,000Arby’s Foundation $5,000Ceres Solutions, LLP $5,000Land O’ Lakes Foundation $5,000Share Our Strength $5,000The Assure Group $5,000

county at least once a month, costs the food bank $18,000 a year, per county.

The 2018 Mobile Pantry calendar is now open, and Monthly Host Sponsor dates are filling quickly! We are seeking program supporters to bring the Mobile Pantry to your county in the form of: • Monthly Host Sponsors at $550 per

month • Corporate Program Supporters

will help to underwrite the annual cost of the program, for the county of their selection, at giving levels starting at $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000.

To schedule a mobile pantry for your county, please call Mobile Pantry Coodiantor, Alex Buckles at 765.471.0062 x208.

To discuss Corporate Program Support opportunities, call Chief Operating Officer, Kier Crites at 765.471.0062 x219.

1204 Greenbush StreetLafayette, IN 47904

Return Service Requested

Amanda EstesAmy GaulkeHope GulkerDave & Dolly KladivkoSusan LisackBetty MarshallMichelle RileyMichele TomarelliCarl & Christine Westerberg

Feed the future by joining Food Finders’ Red Sock Society.

You made a difference by supporting our work with your valuable time, funds, and food donations. A bequest gift to Food Finders Food Bank will perpetuate your support and create a living legacy, fighting hunger for generations to come.

For more information on planned giving, contact Jenny McVeigh at jmcveigh@food-finders.org or call 765.471.0062 x221.

Winter 2017

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Emma AlveyPatricia CallowayLetha ConnellDon DillDonna GullionCharles JohnsMichael KoningDenny ManningDavid McEwanDaniel MeyerPatrick O’MalleyTed PagetPam RhodeMartha SheeringaMildred SchluttenhoferLibby SchurmanPat SchusterDon SteinMel StreitmatterJoyce A. Turpin

IN MEMORIUM GIFTS

January - November 2017

Donations in Memory of: Donations in Honor of:

Save the date!

May 5, 2018