Greater Cleveland Food Bank

As the Greater Cleveland Food Bank marks the one-year anniversary of providing emergency response efforts for Northeast Ohio, we still recognize the urgency to help support the thousands of individuals and families who have been so deeply impacted by the effects of COVID-19. Knowing the challenges that some families face, we are incredibly grateful for the way our community continues to rise to the occasion to help support our neighbors. I want to take this opportunity to thank you once again for helping to support our hunger relief efforts during this critical time and for helping us to serve more children, families, seniors and individuals than ever before.

From March 15, 2020 through February 28, 2021, we have served more than 163,000 households through our emergency response efforts. Of those households served, more than 55,600 were new households, seeking assistance from us and our partners for the first time. During this last year, the support of our community has also helped us provide more than 218,600 backpacks for children, each containing six child-friendly meals, and more than 530,000 emergency food boxes filled with fresh produce and shelf-stable food to help support families during this challenging time. Never before have we seen such a drastic increase in the number of people turning to us and our partners for assistance. We know we simply could not have served this many clients without the support of individuals like you.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people rely on our services to help make ends meet; but now more than ever, we must remain relentless in our commitment to ensuring everyone in our communities has the nutritious food they need. We will continue to work with our community and build on our work from this last year in order to provide the most impactful services possible for our clients. Together, we can continue to make a true difference in the health and well-being of our neighbors.

Thank you again for joining us in the fight against hunger!

Links:

• Learn more about the Greater Cleveland Food Bank

• Full-Time Grandmother of Seven Finds Food for All (PDF)
  

As we enter the holiday season during a year none of us could have expected, I want to again thank you for your support. September 30^th marked the end of our 2020 Fiscal Year and it is an honor to share the progress we have made in combatting hunger in partnership with you.  With the multitude of challenges impacting all of us, we are grateful for our community’s generosity allowing us to expand and modify our efforts to reach a record number of clients.

During our FY2020, we were able to increase our total distribution by nearly 8.5 million pounds from FY2019, largely due to the expanded programming that was part of our COVID-19 emergency response efforts. This expanded programming included weekly distributions at the City of Cleveland Muni lot, home-delivered meals to seniors who are homebound and individuals with disabilities and the distribution of “grab and go” meals to our children’s programs.  This additional work did not deter us from the goals outlined in our FY2019 – FY2021 Strategic Plan to enhance our programs and organizational capacity. 

We know our work is only beginning.  One in five children and one in six people in our service area live in a food-insecure household unsure of where their next meal will come from.  We face an uncertain road ahead in light of the pandemic.  Thank you for being a part of a community that has the determination to make things better. Your support truly does make a difference.

• FY2020 Impact Report (PDF)