The Food Bank of Siouxland is proud to announce the recipients for the annual Celebrate Our Friends event, highlighting individuals and organizations that have made an impact through service, donations, and dedication. The three awards given were: Volunteer of the Year, Agencies of the Year, and the Linda Scheid Legacy Award.
The Volunteer of the Year award goes to an individual or organization who has dedicated their time and resources and whose efforts have had a major effect on fighting hunger throughout our communities.
This year’s recipient is Barnhart – Crane Sales & Service. Since 2019, Barnhart has brought employees and their families to volunteer with Stamp Out Hunger, BackPack stuffing, and “Family Fun Nights.” They have put in over 75 hours of food sorting, wiping down BackPack program totes, cleaning out food drive barrels, and more.
“We enjoy helping the community the best we can. Whether it’s through service hours or donations, we are so thankful for the award,” says a Barnhart – Crane Sales & Service representative.
Agencies of the Year are awarded to two of our 100+ agencies – one from Sioux City, one from the greater Siouxland area – who go above and beyond in working with the Food Bank of Siouxland in distributing food.
This year’s Sioux City recipient is Radiant Life Church. Since opening their pantry doors in 2014, they have distributed nearly 30,000 meals. With two locations to serve the west side of Sioux City that lacked pantry access at the time of opening, by 2020 Radiant Life Church added a meal to couple with their monthly distribution.
“Thank you very much. I want to say a special thank you to my team because this is definitely a team effort. I don’t do this by myself and it takes all of us to make this happen. And thank you to the Food Bank of Siouxland for being a part of this team too,” says Anne Cvrk, Operations Manager of Radiant Life Church’s Food Pantry.
This year’s greater Siouxland area recipient is Food 4 You Mobile Pantry out of Onawa, IA. The Mobile Pantry Program: Food to You allows for the Food Bank of Siouxland to bring thousands of pounds of food to a host location where access to nutritional food can be a challenge. Food 4 You has filled a gap in consistent food assistance since 2012. So far in 2023, they have served about 46,000 meals with an average of 163 households per month.
“We work together as a team and it runs smoothly every month, serving pretty much all of Monona County now. Just yesterday, we had our drive up distribution and we served a woman in her 20s who was crying. She was so grateful Food 4 You had this food for her. We love the experience of helping. Thank you very much,” says Sherri Joyner, Food 4 You Pantry Lead.
The Linda Scheid Legacy Award goes to an individual or organization that has supported the Food Bank of Siouxland over the course of many years in our mission of fighting hunger throughout our communities.
This year’s recipient is Kemps. Kemps began donating product in 2021, while COVID-19 was still at its height. In that short time, they have donated over 580,000 pounds of product. Most recently, Kemps donated shelf stable milk to be included into the BackPack program sacks, saving the program $17,000. With dairy products being in the top three requested items from agencies, Kemps has ensured the Food Bank of Siouxland provides calcium and other important nutrients that will keep neighbors healthy.
“It’s really cool to be recognized. That’s not why we do this, we’re owned by farmers and farmers believe it’s really important for everyone to have access to quality dairy products. The shelf stable program is huge. We’re glad to be recognized for doing it every once in a while, so thank you,” says Jay Johnson, Kemps Sales Director.
We also appreciate and recognize our honorable mentions for the Volunteer of the Year Award – I-State Truck Center; as well as the Linda Scheid Legacy Award – Iowa Total Care, Seaboard Triumph Foods and Smithfield.
The Food Bank of Siouxland is so grateful to all who have joined in our mission of fighting hunger. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, donors, and supporters, we are able to make an impact on countless neighbors facing food insecurity.