Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana

Food distributionas Indiana's largest Food Bank, Gleaners recognizes that our superpower is the sourcing and distribution of large quantities of nutritious Food. In our fiscal year 2023, we distributed a record 99 million meals to our 21-county service area in Indiana, and through fresh connect central, a regional Food distribution organization operated as a social enterprise by Gleaners. Fresh connect central serves the feeding america network of Food banks, providing fresh produce, protein, dairy, and dry goods.metrics for specific programs include: - 6.1 million meals distributed through our onsite pantry, the largest in the state- 1.2 million meals through home delivery program to those households who lack transportation or who are unable to get to a pantry location- 631,000 meals via gleaners2go curbside pickup- 31.4 million meals provided by our 210 network partners in our 21-county service area- 1.8 million meals for students and families through 67 school pantries and summer meal sites- nutrition program Gleaners is committed to providing a wide variety of nutritious Food to those we serve. We recognize the direct connection between Food insecurity and the top chronic conditions affecting overall health, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. In 2023, Gleaners distributed over 60 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, a new record. In addition, our nutrition committee established goals related to partnership for a healthier america and their healthy eating research (her) guidelines. Most foods are ranked as green (choose often), yellow (choose sometimes) or red (choose rarely) when they arrive in our warehouse. Approximately 80% of our inventory is ranked based on these guidelines, with the balance typically being mixed loads of donated Food, or other items such as oils, spices, and condiments. A baseline of 66% green and yellow ranked foods was established in 2023, and a goal was set to achieve 70% by the end of fiscal year 2025. - outreach and economic mobility Gleaners established a supplemental nutrition assistance program (snap) outreach program in 2011 in response to the sharp rise in Food insecurity following the great recession in 2008. In 2023, we assisted over 2,700 neighbors in submitting their snap applications. Snap is a crucial part of any hunger relief program. In fact, for every meal provided by the charitable hunger relief system, snap provides 9 meals. Helping our neighbors access such a robust and effective assistance program allows the household's limited budget to be spent on housing, utilities, transportation, and critical necessities. Based on these efforts and a commitment to empowering our neighbors onto a path of greater self-sufficiency, Gleaners expanded our outreach team with an eye toward expanded services in 2024, including assistance with medicaid, temporary assistance to needy families (tanf), utility, internet, and cellular assistance, and more.