The Salvation Army’s Post

Transcript

When disaster survivors drive through a Salvation Army emergency distribution line, one item that goes into nearly every car is a food box. Inside that box is an assortment of staple food items and snacks designed to help feed a hungry family. But what you may not know is that these boxes are the result of a partnership between The Salvation Army and another nonprofit called Midwest. Food Bank for the partnership between Midwest Food Bank and Salvation Army. Believe it was bonded in Biloxi, Ms. When we had Hurricane Katrina come through, our founder David Kaiser and his wife were sitting in their living room watching the sheer devastation of everything that took place there. And really wanted to help and so they decided let's load up one semi load of food that we have in our warehouse and send it down there, he said. We'll find somebody that will use it. While the first person I ran into was a Salvation Army person and they did use it and then they asked him if he would bring 10 more semi loads of food in. We didn't have those in the warehouse at the time. And his wife asked him where are you going to find that? His answer was God will provide that. That chance meeting led to an ongoing partnership that has provided 10s of thousands of food boxes, hygiene bags and clean up kits to disaster survivors across the United States. The Salvation Army provides the cardboard, and the Midwest Food Bank fills the boxes with food for disaster survivors. When disaster strikes, the Salvation Army taps into that stockpile of boxes to help survivors restock their pantry and begin the recovery process. Midwest Food Bank relies on volunteers and local churches to build its disaster food boxes, hygiene bags and clean up kits. These are then stored strategically at food banks across the country and kept ready for delivery to people in need, often on a Midwest Food Bank truck. So Midwest Food Bank started in a shed on a farm. Two brothers that are farmers wanted to help 10 food pantries in the local area in central Illinois. 21 years later, we're serving 2500 food pantries. Our main mission is to feed food pantries and to get food into the individual's hands that really need it. Wait, do you have the soup kitchens where you have the food pantries? Feeding centers? And very, very, very, very many. Salvation Armies. The partnership with the Midwest Food Bank means a lot to the Salvation Army. The food boxes are filled with love by many volunteers that are at the aid of disaster survivors. Without the volunteers, we couldn't do anything. And our volunteers help us with distribution of food to the pantries, repackaging bulk product that comes in, packing the food boxes, packing the cleanup buckets. Without volunteers, there's no way we could exist. Whatever the disaster, the partnership between The Salvation Army and Midwest Food Bank has brought food, water and emergency relief supplies to countless disaster survivors and rescue workers, all beginning from one chance encounter. My goal is that we don't just make this a disaster relief partnership, but in everyday partnership, and we appreciate and we value our relationship with Salvation Army.