COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri, which serves Callaway and Cole county residents, will host an open house Thursday.
Activities will start with a 4 p.m. ribbon cutting to celebrate the Food Bank's anniversary, according to Kimberly Kent, special events coordinator.
"We are celebrating our 35th anniversary for the Food Bank," she said. "Our food bank serves 32 counties. We serve 104,000 people a month throughout those 32 counties."
The evening's events also will includes tours, cooking demonstrations and family-friendly activities from 4:30-7 p.m. Appetizers, beer and wine will be provided.
The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, a nationwide nonprofit network of 200-plus food banks. The Food Bank works with manufacturers, wholesalers, processors, growers and more to secure donations and food at reduced costs.
The Columbia-based organization also works with 132 food pantries, soup kitchens and other agencies to ensure food gets into the hands of those who need it most.
It also distributes 7,500 Buddy Packs each week during the school year to low-income children at 156 schools. Each Buddy Pack provides two ready-to-eat entrees, a fruit cup, shelf-stable milk and a nutrition bar.
A new pilot program is underway in Boone County providing VIP Veteran Packs for vets living at or below the poverty line (also including toiletries). With additional resources, that veterans program will be made permanent and expand to other counties. People may donate to this and other programs via the organization's website.
Also provided are supplemental food program boxes for older individuals. A central pantry is located in Columbia, and there also are mobile and school food pantries.
In Callaway County, the Food Bank serves:
The Fulton Soup Kitchen, 350 Sycamore at John Harris Community Center.
Holts Summit Food Pantry, 460 S. Summit Drive.
Missouri Girls Town Foundation.
New Beginnings Church of Christ Food Pantry, and New Beginnings Church of Christ Soup Kitchen, 109A W. Sixth St.
Oak Chapel Food Pantry, County Road 365 and State Highway Y, Guthrie.
SERVE Inc., 4901 County Road 304.
Brittany Lenhart, outreach director at SERVE Inc., said without the Food Bank, it would be extremely difficult to help Callawegians.
"They provide a very large portion of our food - I would say 90 percent of it. We pick up from them once a week," she said.
That comes to a total between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of food a week, Lenhart added.
"The community is very gracious with their donations, but that wouldn't cover our needs," she said.
About a dozen agencies in Cole County also are served.
The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri is at 2101 Vandiver Drive in Columbia. The organization is online at sharefoodbringhope.org.