Food Bank marks 40th anniversary: ‘Food is the Focus, People are the Why’

HUNTSVILLE — The Food Bank of North Alabama is celebrating 40 years of serving the community with its new “Food is the Focus, People are the Why” initiative.

The campaign is geared toward meeting the increased need for food assistance throughout the region. The food bank, in 2023, reported a significant 48% increase in food assistance in just Madison County.

During the same time, there was a 28% increase in the organization’s 11-county coverage area from Florence to Cullman to Fort Payne.

Thanks to high-level donors, such as Boeing, the Food Bank has been able to construct a distribution center to more efficiently serve the region. The agency will hold a ribbon-cutting Thursday for the facility at 225 Finney Drive in Huntsville.

“We have sections of our distribution center to finish and core programmatic objectives we need to have in place as quickly as possible to meet the rising food insecurity both we and our agency partners are seeing,” said Food Bank CEO Shirley Schofield. “We have churches with congregations of 30 or 50 people who have food pantries that are serving over 500 families.”

Schofield is asking that the community offer its support to the food bank.

“For 40 years we have served the community, now we are hopeful the community will support us so that we are able to continue at the level needed,” she said. “There is a compelling need for these investments, we have to be prepared for whatever the future holds. We are calling on business and community leaders to help us acquire the resources to ensure people have enough nutritious food.

“This is a lifelong investment that will impact children, veterans, seniors, and working parents for generations.”

Emily Propst Reiney, director of The Propst Foundation, said the food bank is an invaluable resource.

“They serve a great need; they fill a great void,” said Reiney. “Their work is doing a great thing in our community. It is sad that we need them, but it is undeniable that we do.”

According to Feeding America’s most recent Map the Meal Gap, 60% of people experiencing food insecurity in Madison County are above the SNAP threshold but still have difficulty keeping food on the table.

The Food Bank of North Alabama is on pace to distribute 14 million pounds of food –equivalent to 11.7 million meals – in its 2024 fiscal year, a record for the non-profit organization.