RECENT NEWS

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…

For some kids, summer means no school and no worries, but for others it means not enough food to eat. We have multiple locations in our service area where ages 0-18 can eat free this summer. Bradford Grade School 345 Silver St. Bradford, IL Serving: May 29th – June 29th Tuesday & Thursday 11:00 am – 11:30 am Maple Lane Apartments 2101 Wacker Rd. Savanna, IL Serving: June 4th – August 10th Tuesday & Thursday 11:30 am – Noon Hanover Twp. Park District 500 Fillmore St. Hanover, IL Serving: June 18th – August 10th Monday – Friday 11:30 am – Noon Illinois Valley YMCA 300 Walnut St. Peru, IL Serving: June 4th – August 10th Monday – Friday 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm La…

We recently announced our new Map the Meal Gap numbers. Key findings are: • In the last 12 months, River Bend Foodbank and its Partner Agencies distributed 13,466,746 meals. This is an increase of 19% from last year and 80% from when we first set our goal three years ago to close the meal gap by 2025. • The Meal Gap in River Bend Foodbank’s 23 county service area is 20,664,500. That is down 6.5% from last year or 1.4 million meals. • We are closer to ending hunger than ever before. The meal gap has decreased and we are providing more meals to hungry people. The unmet need is now 7.3 million meals, less than half of what it…

During the month of February, Quad City area businesses and organizations collected funds and food for River Bend Foodbank. This year, the Community Hunger Drive engaged 51 businesses. They held a variety of activities throughout the month, including cake contests, bake sales, change wars, and chili cook-offs, to engage their employees in raising donations for River Bend Foodbank. “We are very excited about the growth of the Community Hunger Drive,” said Mike Miller, President & CEO of River Bend Foodbank. “The organizations that participate tell us how much fun it is, and for such a great cause. We look forward to a day when every business is involved, our community never throws away food that could still be eaten by…