RECENT NEWS

The River Bend Foodbank’s community partnerships have never been as important as they have been this year. In the face of turmoil, friends in all forms stepped up, and River Bend Foodbank is sincerely thankful. We’ve had families host special fundraisers, employees from companies across the region volunteer, and thousands more gave for the first time, or the 10th time, in support of River Bend Foodbank’s mission. The community was an integral link in the chain that helped nearly 160,000 people in need in 2020. Due to the pandemic and economic downturn, the Foodbank’s capacity is being tested, as we experience spikes in food costs, supply chain disruptions, and limitations for volunteer support, all while the number of people facing…

When River Bend Foodbank relocated from Moline to Davenport in 2014, we lost our sales tax exemption. Instead of each $1 providing 5 meals for people who are hungry, we now pay $25,000 of your contributions each year to the State of Iowa, taxes on the boxes, fuel, office supplies, and other things needed to support charitable food distribution. Those funds could instead provide 125,000 meals. One food bank was already made exempt, but the 4 of us who are not pay $186,000 in sales taxes, which could instead provide 1 million meals for hungry Iowans. That amount is a drop in the bucket of the Iowa General Fund, and it should be a priority for state legislators to feed…

All of us at River Bend Foodbank wish you and your family a joyful holiday season and a prosperous new year! We are so grateful to all of our donors, supporters, and volunteers. Without you, we never could have achieved so much this year. TOGETHER, we’ve fed thousands of children, seniors, and families in need across our community. Through your kindness and generosity, we will continue to to be there to feed hungry neighbors in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. From all of us at River Bend Foodbank, we wish you a happy and healthy 2020.

River Bend Foodbank announced that our community has reached a historic milestone in our mission to close the meal gap in eastern Iowa and western Illinois by surpassing 15 million meals. Currently, in the counties served by River Bend Foodbank, 120,930 people are missing 20.7 million meals. This equates to 1 in 8 people and 1 in 5 children. But with renewed commitment and the incredible contributions of our community partners, we are getting closer to making sure that those in need no longer go hungry. Here is what has changed: • 2014: 7.3 million meals were distributed in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. • 2015: The River Bend Board of Directors set a strategic goal to triple that distribution over…