RECENT NEWS

River Bend Foodbank was honored with the Q2030 award at the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce annual meeting last month for being a catalyst for positive change in the region through its commitment of making the Quad-Cities a hunger-free community. Last year, River Bend launched a strategy in Scott County to close the meal gap by the end of 2018. So far, we’ve doubled distribution from 1 to 2 million meals per year. With financial support from the John Deere Foundation, Regional Development Authority, Scott County Regional Authority, and Ascentra Credit Union Foundation, River Bend Foodbank was able to hire the staff needed to implement this strategy, as well as obtain the food needed. Working with our Scott County Food Pantries, volunteers, and expansion of our Backpack,…

River Bend Foodbank’s sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. Since 2002, using objective analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology.  These Accountability & Transparency metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders.  On June 1, 2016, Charity Navigator upgraded their methodology for rating each charity’s’ financial health with CN 2.1….

Our 2017 Agency Conference was held last month at the Waterfront Convention Center. Partner agencies were able to network as well as attend informative sessions on compliance and capability. Health Ribordy, Director of Agency Services at the Central Texas Food Bank, gave the keynote address titled “ReThinking Hunger: a Success Story.” Three partner agencies were recognized for their outstanding work in feeding the hungry. Those honored were:  Church Of The Open Door, Clinton, IA  Sherrard Food Pantry, Sherrard, IL  Helping Hands of Roseville, Roseville, IL Congratulations and thank you to all of our partner agencies for helping to solve hunger in their communities.

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 47 businesses. These businesses held a variety of activities throughout the month, including bake sales, bowling challenges, and chili cook-offs, to engage their employees in raising donations for River Bend Foodbank. “We envision a day when the Community Hunger Drive involves the entire community and provides millions of meals,” said Michael Miller, Executive Director of River Bend Foodbank. “The 47 organizations that participated this year had a blast, hosting fun activities to beat the winter doldrums and help people in need. There is no reason for anyone in our community to go hungry, and…

River Bend Foodbank recently made a number of announcements related to the community-wide effort to end hunger in eastern Iowa and western Illinois: The observance of River Bend Foodbank’s 35th Anniversary in 2017 Record distribution of 11.1 million meals in 2016, halfway to the 10-year goal of ending hunger A specific initiative to close the Meal Gap in Scott County, which has the largest unmet need in the 22 counties they serve Recognition of several donors who have made commitments toward ending hunger in Scott County, the QCA, and/or all 22 counties Launch of their brand new and improved website, riverbendfoodbank.org Currently, in the counties served by River Bend Foodbank, 125,220 people are missing 22.1 million meals. 1 in 8…