Giving Compass' Take:

• Local pantries and food banks are adapting to the pandemic by innovating pathways for food to get to communities that need it most. 

• How can donors encourage other innovation in food banks? 

• Read about these food assistance strategies. 

This pandemic spring has changed some pathways of getting food to hungry people, but there’s still plenty being donated and distributed to meet the increased need.

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee, with stores in eight states, often makes donations to food banks, says Christina Gayman, director of public relations. But right now, many of its suppliers have approached the chain for help distributing their surplus.

“They know that we have either the food bank contacts or the media contacts to share this information in local communities,” Gayman says. So, Hy-Vee acts as a conduit between the wholesalers and consumers or food banks.

Hy-Vee has arranged contact-less distribution of mangoes, carrots and bananas in several communities. It also coordinated a 40,000-pound donation of watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe to the Food Bank of Iowa.

“It is not difficult for us to find a home for food right now,” she says. In fact, some local pantries were ordering several times their normal amounts, and the Food Bank of Iowa had to limit orders to double pre-pandemic levels. But Book says another truck is coming online and that will help with distribution in the 55 Iowa counties the bank serves.

Gayman and Book both say some of the recent donations have reflected changes in supply chains as most restaurants either closed or switched to take-out only in March. That can lead to donations that reflect institutional, rather than household, consumption patterns.

Read the full article about food for communities during the pandemic by Amy Mayer at Harvest Public Media.