Nayak Farms Delivers Sweet Corn Donation to River Bend Food Bank

The River Bend Food Bank received a special delivery from a farm designed to give back to others.  The Nayak Farms Sweet Corn Initiative intends to tackle food-insecurity in the Midwest by donating large amounts of fresh, delicious, sweet corn to the States of Illinois and Iowa.

On September 14, Nayak Farms delivered more than 7000 pounds of their sweet corn to the River Bend Food Bank.   Owner, Dr. Dave Nayak, splits his time between his farm in Gardner, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois where he also operates the Strength to Love Foundation and the Strength to Love Asthma & Allergy Free Clinic.

“We at Nayak Farms are deeply committed to tackling food-insecurity in Illinois and the Midwest.  The River Bend Food Bank serves many food-insecure Iowans and Western-Illinoisians who do not know where their next meal may come from. We are honored to donate our sweet corn to feed those in Iowa and Illinois who are in need. Further, we hope that the model we have created will help incentivize more farmers throughout our wonderful state and beyond to donate a portion of their land to help address food-insecurity. Because at the end of the day, we all have an inherent responsibility to be a good neighbor to those around us in our communities.” said Dr. Dave Nayak.

According to Chris Ford, Food Sourcing Manager at River Bend Food Bank, “Food donations from manufacturers and grocers, along with subsidies from the USDA and government programs, have decreased (some dramatically) over the past few months. To maintain the support our hunger-relief partners need, we’ve had to increase the amount of food we’re purchasing by about 20%.  Donations like this from Nayak Farms help us provide fresh, healthy food at a time when more people in our community need support.”

Nayak Farms has already donated over 100,000 pounds of sweet corn to 6 of the 8 major Illinois Foodbanks and is on pace to donate 200,000 pounds this 2022 harvest season. Their goal is to donate over 1 million pounds of their sweet corn and other fresh produce to fight food insecurity in Illinois and throughout the Midwest by 2026.

Created in October 2021, Dr. Dave Nayak owns and operates with his tenants, Nayak Farms in Gardner, Illinois. He plans to expand his farm in the near future to include additional specialty crops like green beans that he also intends to donate to the State of Illinois and other Midwest states like Iowa, Missouri and Indiana.

He is passionate toward fighting food insecurity with the goal of implementing policy change at the state level, something he has already accomplished in Illinois. Nayak Farms is a proud member of Illinois Corn Growers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, and Illinois Soybean Association. For more information, please visit Nayak Farms on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn or at www.NayakFarms.com.