Great Plains Food Bank

STATEWIDE FOOD RECOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION: The Great Plains Food Bank (GPFB) is the only food bank serving the state of North Dakota and Clay County, Minn. Our mission is Ending Hunger Together. During FY25, the Great Plains Food Bank provided food for 12.7 million meals to 160,348 people struggling with hunger; 37% were children and 15% were seniors. The GPFB partners with hundreds of FOOD DONORS (grocers, manufacturers, growers, retailers, and community food drive partners) who donate food for a variety of reasons (overproduction, packaging mistakes, nearing a freshness date, or grown to donate). This food makes its way to neighbors living with hunger either through GPFB's DIRECT SERVICE PROGRAMS or diverse network of PARTNER AGENCIES. The GPFB serves 196 partner agencies (food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, and other charitable feeding programs) operating in 101 communities who are on the front lines providing food to our neighbors in need. Our direct service programs allow the GPFB to fill gaps in service and bring food to people in need through a variety of targeted programs. VOLUNTEERS are the backbone of our operation. Their service enables us to distribute food efficiently. Last year 3,438 VOLUNTEERS shared 11,209 hours of time with the GPFB, repackaging bulk items, packing food packages, handing out food, sorting food drive items, and performing administrative tasks. The GPFB is supported by thousands of FINANCIAL DONORS who keep our organization operational. For every $1 donated, the GPFB can distribute food for 2 meals. We rely on COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS in every corner of the state to help us design and implement community-based services that tackle both the immediate hunger needs of our neighbors, and long-term root causes of hunger. And finally, we collaborate with our NEIGHBORS experiencing hunger by regularly seeking their guidance and feedback to improve services, reduce barriers, and adapt programs to better meet their needs.

USDA COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS: The GPFB operates two USDA Commodity Programs for the state of North Dakota. These programs include The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP - Senior Food Pack Program). TEFAP provides commodity products (fresh fruits and vegetables, canned fruit, vegetables and juices, dry and shelf-stable milk, cheese, canned meats, peanut butter or dried beans, cereal, rice, or pasta) to qualified emergency feeding programs such as soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and food pantries across the state. In FY25, the Great Plains Food Bank distributed 269,572 meals of TEFAP product to low-income individuals through our partner network of feeding programs.The Great Plains Food Bank Senior Food Pack Program is a commodity-based program that provides nutritionally balanced, shelf-stable food packages to low-income seniors. Seniors aged 60+ with incomes of less than 150 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible for enrollment in the program. The senior food pack program served 47 communities throughout the state of North Dakota.