Since March 15, 2020, Food Bank for the Heartland has distributed more than 38.3 million meals – an 89% increase over the average of the previous four years, according to its Facebook page.

To continue to help reduce food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Food Bank for the Heartland’s Board of Directors approved a three-year strategic plan in April 2020 to help the organization reposition itself to take on hunger across its two-state service area of Nebraska and Iowa. 

To support the three focus areas, Sullivan says the Food Bank created a new operating structure. The nonprofit's 93-county service area across Nebraska and western Iowa has been divided into five regions. The regions are served by two Network and Community Support Managers who oversee six Network and Community Support Representatives (CSRs).

In addition, Sullivan says the new structure will provide more equitable access to healthy and culturally diverse foods across all regions and bring more individual attention with increased customer support and service. Other areas the Food Bank seeks to address include increasing educational opportunities and networking as well as improving day-to-day communication, which involves orders, deliveries and compliance-related inquiries.

Sullivan says the new structure allows the Food Bank to more adequately serve the Nebraska and Iowa regions.

"These new positions foster closer working relationships with communities across our service area, enabling the Food Bank to better serve our partners and build a stronger partner network," she says. "This will have a direct impact on the smaller communities we serve throughout Nebraska and western Iowa."

In Nebraska's Holt County, Sullivan says the new strategic plan has flourished. 

"West Holt Health Ministries, located in Holt County, serves the areas surrounding Atkinson and Stuart and is a great example of this new structure in action," she says. "Twice a month, the pantry distributes canned food, meats, dairy items and cereal out of a former dentist’s office. During a recent distribution, the pantry served 180 families in just three hours."

Sullivan says Jake Kampschneider, Food Bank for the Heartland’s community and partner support representative for northeast Nebraska, was on site to support the day’s activities. Through Jake and his fellow representatives, the Food Bank seeks to provide a specific point of contact to address challenges its nonprofit partners face as well as local issues within each community. 

Kampschneider says the new system has exposed the ongoing need for food in both urban and rural areas. 

“This shows that many people throughout the Heartland continue to struggle,” he says. “Some may think food insecurity is just an urban problem, or that it disappeared along with the pandemic. But with rising food and gas prices, many families still find it difficult to make ends meet.”

To learn more about Food Bank for the Heartland's work in local communities, visit the website and Facebook page.