Idaho Foodbank Warehouse

Direct and indirect food distribution: The Idaho Foodbank operates warehouse facilities in Meridian, Lewiston and Pocatello, distributing donated and purchased food to a statewide network of more than 450 community partners in all 44 Idaho counties. Community partners include schools, churches, pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers and supplemental food programs. For communities that lack a brick-and-mortar food pantry or special populations that require supplemental food support, The Idaho Foodbank conducts scheduled mobile pantry deliveries of fresh, dry, and frozen food. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Idaho Foodbank distributed food as part of the newly created, temporary federal Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The Idaho Foodbank distributed nearly 30.9 million pounds of food - providing food for nearly 26 million meals - through community partners and its own direct-service programs throughout the state of Idaho. When food is purchased, volume buying power maximized the return on donor contributions to such a degree that one dollar can provide food for up to five meals. The Idaho Foodbank, through its Food Rescue program, captured and distributed to those in need more than 8 million pounds of surplus food from growers, processors and retail outlets that might otherwise end up in local landfills. Much of the food received is in bulk and must be repackaged for distribution to families. The work is largely done by volunteers. Last fiscal year, 53,156 hours were donated by 17,474 volunteers, the equivalent of 25 full-time employees.

Nutritional Services: The Idaho Foodbank develops, implements and administers a wide array of direct-services programs that benefits the health and well-being of especially vulnerable populations such as families, children and seniors. Programs in addition to the Mobile Pantry program mentioned above include Backpack, School Pantry, Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). The Idaho Foodbank also collaborates with health care partners and systems, and works with educators, administrators, local governments, and healthcare professionals to ensure that these programs promote healthier families and more stable communities. During the most recent school year, The Idaho Foodbank's Backpack program distributed a total of 63,149 backpacks. Statewide, 2,651 children received a backpack every Friday throughout the school year. In the same period, 432,242 pounds of food (or the equivalent of 332,493 meals) was distributed to 12,173 households through the School Pantry program. School-based programs directed at children and families provide an impact on the educational performance of children. Moreover, school staff report that the Backpack program has improved relationships and communication with families. Community Initiatives: Recognizing that food is a social determinant of health, The Idaho Foodbank works in collaboration with community coalitions, healthcare organizations, and the general community to address food insecurity and improve community health. During FY21, the Community Initiatives team led two virtual Hunger to Health Forums where a total of 83 Idaho Foodbank pantry partners, healthcare partners, and community stakeholders learned about the relationship between food insecurity, nutrition, and health outcomes. To increase awareness of and access to critical resources throughout the pandemic, the Community Initiatives team facilitated the distribution of over 29,000 flyers providing information about local resources across the state. To better understand the experience of food insecurity within marginalized populations, The Idaho Foodbank employed 3 Community Liaisons who conducted 4 focus groups in southwest Idaho. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare mobile operations were put on hold to meet social distancing requirements and precautions. The goal of the Community Initiatives department is to work to understand community needs through collaboration and relationship-building and to explore creative solutions to meet those needs in order to improve community health.