Your Impact

Food Banking is the Heart of Freestore Foodbank’s Operations

Food banking – the procurement and distribution of food – is the foundation of Freestore Foodbank’s mission. And for many of our supporters, that’s the work that means the most to them.

“Freestore Foodbank does lots of cool things, but we’re primarily motivated by food banking – the way to feed hungry people—because people shouldn’t be hungry.” – Jen and John Stein, Donors

Freestore Foodbank sources, safely stores, and distributes millions of pounds of food annually to more than 600 local partner agencies in 20 counties, an area where one in seven people face hunger.

Fueling this operation are our food sourcing, warehousing, agency relations, and transportation teams. Our new Community Resource & Distribution Center, west of downtown Cincinnati, allows the scale to do that work efficiently and cost-effectively. The added capacity of the new building enabled us to increase freezer and cooler space by 350% for the storage & distribution of healthy food. This had led to over 600,000 pounds of food being rescued.

“We didn’t have pallet racking in the past, or the space to take advantage of last-minute, large-scale food donations. Now, we do.” -Trish Lampe, Strategic Products Sourcing

Freestore Foodbank reaches neighbors facing hunger through a network of 611 partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, community centers, daycare facilities, senior centers, and school and program sites.

Partners within the I-275 loop pick up their food orders at our distribution center. For partners beyond the beltway, our drivers travel hundreds of miles each day to deliver their food.

“Our room for produce has doubled [in the new facility], so we can take in more rescued food, share more pounds [with longer shelf-life], and deliver more boxes to the community.” -Chris Brown, Community Partnerships and Programs

Our region spans a hundred miles, supplying urban, suburban, and rural areas, but no matter how far away, we’re committed to ending hunger in the communities we serve. We can’t do it alone!

Freestore Provides Food so Kids Can Focus on School and Being Kids! 

As the new school year gets underway, Freestore Foodbank’s outreach to school children facing hunger kicks into high gear through our Power Pack and School Pantry programs. 

Mark Hunter, pictured here, and his wife, Virgie, are longtime supporters of our children’s meal distributions, residing in Portsmouth, Ohio. The Hunters partner with Freestore Foodbank to provide Power Packs of weekend food for several elementary and middle schools in Scioto, Adams, and Highland counties. Like many rural areas, these counties experience very high levels of food insecurity.

Volunteers are the power behind Freestore’s work in many programs – especially Power Pack. Nearly every weekday, volunteers are on-site, assembling the 12-item lunch bags and boxing them for distribution.  

Once completed, Freestore distributes about 220,000 Power Packs each school year through 110 school-based sites in our tristate region. For locations with more than 70 students receiving weekly Power Packs, our Programs & Partnerships team collaborates with local schools to establish a school-based pantry, allowing entire families to access food. 

At Freestore Foodbank, we know that a hungry child can’t learn and thrive; we provide food so students can focus on school—and being kids!

On August 15, 2024, Freestore Foodbank’s largest-ever LIFT the TriState class graduated. Our job training program for Logistics, Inventory, facilities, and transportation management certified 26 graduates—including six women. We’re proud to reach this milestone as we continue to grow our recruitment of women in the warehouse and logistics field.

When speaking to the class and their families, Antoine, Associate VP of Workforce Solutions at Gateway Community College, congratulated the graduates on their hard work. He said LIFT is an opportunity to “rewrite your story and change the trajectory of your family.” This statement resonates with many of our students.

After the ceremony, I spoke with graduates Catrina and Julie, pictured here. Both women are from the Cincinnati area and were connected to LIFT through our partners at River City Correctional Center, one of 18 Community-Based Correctional Facilities in Ohio for non-violent offenders.

Catrina, who has adult children, enrolled in LIFT to model a different path for them. She found LIFT after years of working in restaurants, which left her determined to find better pay and a more permanent career. Although Julie had some experience in the supply chain, after her incarceration, she was determined to create a path back to a logistics career. It’s now possible for her, thanks to LIFT, which allowed Julie to obtain her CLA and CLT certifications.

At graduation, Julie and Catrina described their journey as older students who did not attend college. They shared that LIFT gave them the confidence to know they can build a new career path and continue their education. As Julie said, now “I know I can do it.”

Both women felt LIFT benefited them beyond the professional skill-building. Freestore Foodbank provides resources to its workforce development students to minimize other barriers they may face.
These include rent, utility, or transportation assistance, as well as help with enrolling in medical coverage or SNAP. These additional benefits make all the difference, encouraging students to attend class and stay motivated throughout the full-time, ten-week course.