Semis, boxes, farms and warehouses: No load is too big (or too small) for Midwest Food Bank

A Missouri distributor needed 10 semis of bottled tea cleared out, right now.

Two truckloads of bananas sat in a Chicago warehouse.

Stopped at an Interstate 74 weigh station, a trucker found himself with a load of fresh green beans 1,800 pounds too heavy.

A local gardener had an extra box of vegetables.

In each case, big or small, the Midwest Food Bank turned problems into solutions.

"A lot of companies are glad to have a place like the Midwest Food Bank so they can get food out to the people who need it," said David Kieser, founder and director of the food bank. "They can't give a case or two to a small pantry. They have a semi load that they need to get rid of. If we can pick that up for them and break it down, we can get that distributed out to a lot of other places.

"It's a simple system. It's a grass-roots effort, kind of what America started on. When a neighbor saw a neighbor in trouble, you helped that person out. If you do that, you can change America one person at a time."

Actually, the food bank reaches more than 100,000 people annually through about 500 Midwest agencies that obtain food from the organization.

That number is expected to gradually increase with two other warehouses being added to the original location in Bloomington. In Peoria, a warehouse opened earlier this month near Pioneer Parkway. Next month, Indianapolis will become the third outlet.

The growth is stunning considering the food bank began on the Kieser family farm in 2003. Just 10 McLean County agencies were served out of a Bloomington barn.

Today, the Bloomington food bank has a warehouse and two refrigerated facilities that can take in up to nine semi loads.

The Peoria location, opened thanks to a low-interest loan and individual donations covering the $1.55 million cost, is about 27,000 square feet. About 16,000 square feet is used to store food, with the rest in the early stages of being converted to office space. Larry Herman, director of the Peoria warehouse, also hopes to raise funds for a refrigerated wing here.

Peoria's first load-out days were Feb. 12 and 13. On the first day, a Tuesday, 46 not-for-profit agencies arrived at designated times to collect food.

A morning power outage added to the challenge on the first day, but approximately 40 volunteers used flashlights and headlights while filling vans and trucks. That Wednesday, another 47 agencies arrived.

Next month, a third load-out day will include an additional 35 agencies, with plans to serve a total of 200 agencies by the end of this year.

"I was talking to a guy who said it took him practically two hours to drive from Knoxville to Bloomington," said Bill Scholl, who used a vacation day from Graybar Electric to load vehicles on the first load-out day. "Now it's only 45 minutes and they're here. They're really glad for this location."

All Heart

In addition to sending food to local churches, pantries and other organizations, the food bank provides disaster relief.

More than 160 semi loads of food have gone to the Gulf Coast since the devastating hurricanes in 2005. The food bank also has sent several loads to recent tornado victims in Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, in addition to international relief efforts.

Kieser and Herman point to their organization's low expenditures on administrative costs.

In 2007, the food bank distributed about $14 million worth of free food while spending about $300,000, mostly on three paid employees and gas to fuel a fleet of four semis.

The semis are operated from a volunteer list of more than 100 professional truck drivers.

"Say we've got a load of chicken being donated out of Dallas, Texas," Kieser said. "We'll put out an e-mail and they'll contact us if they're available. We've been able to operate completely on a volunteer basis with most of our work force."

A former contractor in Peoria, Herman runs the warehouse as a volunteer. His wife, Susan, also volunteers full time. The Hermans previously volunteered at disaster sites throughout the country, distributing food and rebuilding homes.

"It's all compassion, all heart, all mercy," Larry Herman said. "That's not a commodity that you find everywhere. There's no gain here other than knowing that there's going to be hundreds of thousands of people who are going to benefit - poor families, the children who suffer with them. Disaster relief.

"If you've been in a disaster area and seen people whose homes have been taken away, they will stand in line for city blocks to receive our food boxes. It's heartwarming to see the response to the need."

Unlike most food banks, which generally charge a small price per pound, the Midwest Food Bank distributes food for free. Only not-for-profit organizations are eligible.

"When a company donates free food to us, we continue to run that through the warehouse and out to the agencies at no cost," Kieser said. "That's a little bit unique throughout the United States. Most food banks will charge a small fee.

"By having no cost to them, as long as they don't sell, barter, trade or raise funds with what we give them, we're going to be able to reach the lowest poverty areas and the people in the most need."

Marjorie LaFont, a University of Illinois Extension nutrition educator who also serves on the food bank's board, regularly sees the effects of hunger in central Illinois.

"There are at least 25,000 people a month who come to a food pantry in the Peoria area," LaFont said. "It doesn't get any better, which is too bad. This is such a tremendous help.

"A food bank like this, you can make one trip and get food that will serve your pantry for several weeks. It's just wonderful. They're getting nutritious food here. It's not junk. There's vegetables, meat, bread items - nutritious food."

Help from all over

Food arrives from a variety of sources.

Fundraising is used to buy goods for disaster scenes.

Corporations donate truckloads when labels are damaged, lines of food are discontinued or expiration dates are looming. In late December, the food bank took in large quantities of food with Christmas packaging - still edible, but no longer in season.

"We're the recipient, and they'll get a charitable donation receipt back to their organization," Herman said. "They don't have to throw it away or waste it, and we get the benefit of distributing it to the poor and needy."

Workers overseeing the scales on Interstate 74 near Carlock keep the food bank's phone number to relieve overloaded trucks. Groups bring in loads from canned food drives.

After hearing of the food bank, a Michigan family sent three semi loads of potatoes from their farm.

"Three semis of potatoes, you're talking about 40,000 pounds per semi," Kieser said.

Orchards send batches of apples. Farmers and gardeners contribute fresh produce, sometimes in small quantities.

When smaller loads of perishable items come in, agencies are contacted immediately.

"The frozen and perishable products are more challenging, but I like to place myself at the table of the person in need," Kieser said. "We need to make that meal a complete, balanced diet. If I'm in tough financial times or my parents just lost their jobs, I still need a nutritional meal.

"That's my goal and our board's goal, and I have to say God has blessed that effort. It's humbling for me to see us do what we're able to do."

Ryan Ori can be reached at (309) 686-3264 or rori@pjstar.com.