SEMO Food Bank served nearly 12.8M meals in 2022

SIKESTON, Mo. (KFVS) - Southeast Missouri Food Bank served nearly 12.8 million meals in 2022.

“Inflation was a real challenge for many people last year,” said Joey Keys, chief executive officer of SEMO Food Bank. “Seniors on fixed incomes and working families found their dollar didn’t go as far, and had to make tough choices when it came to purchasing food, making rent or paying bills. We served about 10,000 more people a month in 2022 than we did in 2021. I’m proud that with the support of our donors, we were able to meet that need.”

According to a release from the food bank, it also saw growth, opening a second location in Cape Girardeau County and adding programs that will increase access to healthy food.

You can read the full report online here.

Other highlights from 2022 include:

• Providing monthly food boxes to 5,350 senior citizens
• Partnering with 30 school districts to provide food for the weekend to 1,270 students
• Distributing more than 2 million pounds of fresh produce, donated in part by local farmers and growers
• Holding 321 mobile food distributions, each providing 200 families with nutritious food
• Completing 1,633 SNAP applications to link people to an important resources to get food on a regular basis

The food bank serves 80,000 people each month through a network of 140 partner agencies and programs in a 16-county service area.

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