Spotlight: Mid-Ohio Foodbank

Spotlight

Our spotlight this week is on the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Let’s learn more about this excellent organization within our Central Ohio community! Colin Baumgartner has shared some insight into the organization.

What is the main goal of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank?
The Foodbank believes that no one should go hungry. To help accomplish this goal, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank is dedicated to feeding hungry people by collecting and distributing food and grocery products, educating the community about hunger, advocating for hunger-relief programs, and collaborating with others who address basic human needs.

Who is eligible to use the Mid-Ohio Foodbank’s services?
The Foodbank partners with more than 500 feeding agencies across our 20-county service area. It’s these food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, after-school programs, and senior housing sites that ensure the food we deliver gets to the people who need it most.

Can you tell us more about how the Mid-Ohio Foodbank is helping to distribute fresh fruits and vegetables?
This May, the Foodbank hosted a national conference dedicated to produce—discussing strategies for getting more in and getting more out. In 2010, nearly 10 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables were distributed and their goal is to get this distribution up to 18 million pounds by 2015. With partner agencies, they’ll set up Farmers’ Market distributions throughout the summer and fall and they even started our own garden here last year.

What is the Campaign to Sustain? How will the new building help assist the Mid-Ohio Foodbank in reaching their goals?
The Campaign to Sustain was part of a three-year effort that included planning, fundraising and ultimately moving to our 3960 Brookham Drive in Grove City. Our new building, a converted mattress factory, obtained LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the Gold Level. The 204,000-square-foot facility allows us to bring in a wider variety of food and enables our more than 12,000 annual volunteers to help in more ways than ever before.

What impact does the Mid-Ohio Food bank have on the community?
We know that it’s hard to accomplish much of anything, whether it’s learning, working or simply enjoying life, when you are hungry. Our hope is that by providing such a basic need, we help make the children, families and seniors we serve stronger and, as a result, help the community grow.

What is something that people may not know about the Mid-Ohio Foodbank?
Over the past 12 months we’ve distributed more than 40 million pounds of food. In 2010, while celebrating our 30^th anniversary, we passed the 500 million pound mark!

How does it make you feel to have such a positive impact on the community?
We’ve come a long way, and that’s great, but we still have a long way to go. I’m proud to be part of such a great organization that has helped so many of our neighbors, but I’ll really feel a sense of accomplishment when there are no longer people in our own community going to bed hungry.

How can the community assist the Mid-Ohio Foodbank in achieving its goals?
We are blessed to live in such a caring community, and there are so many great ways to get involved, from volunteering to donating food & funds to helping spread the word about hunger-related issues. For more information, the best thing to do is call the Foodbank at 614-274-7770 or visit www.midohiofoodbank.org.