Celebrate the Good: Operation Food Search and Local Partners Battle Food Insecurity

Across the country, food insecurity increased as the pandemic became more intense in March and in the months since. In the St. Louis region, there has been a 40% increase in food insecurity rates, and with fewer in-person fundraising events and disruptions to shipments, nonperishable foods are being donated in lower amounts. Because of the work of Operation Food Search, the St. Louis region is continuing to find new ways to deliver food to food pantries and communities that need help now more than ever. Founded in 1981, Operation Food Search is an organization working to relieve hunger by providing free food, nutrition education, and innovative programs proven to reduce food insecurity in 30 Illinois and Missouri counties surrounding St. Louis. This blog takes a look at just a few ways that Operation Food Search and its local partners are using all the tools they possess to help the region through an incredibly challenging time. 

With most office, school, and church food drives canceled or producing fewer donations this year, many food pantries worry that they will not be able to find a viable alternative to collect goods to fill their shelves. Additionally, local St. Louis grocery stores have experienced increased consumer demand for nonperishable items and have fewer nonperishable goods to donate to Operation Food Search than in previous years. Rather than simply accept the loss in donated nonperishable goods, Operation Food Search and local food pantries have pivoted to work with what is available, perishables and monetary donations. In Ferguson, EarthDance Organic Farm School is just one organization that has seriously stepped up to help, donating more than 1,800 pounds of fresh produce so far this year to Blessed Teresa and other nearby food pantries in the Operation Food Search network. Continuing to look for innovative solutions to combat hunger in the area, Operation Food Search compiled a list of ways for individuals struggling with hunger to get help, an interactive food pantry map helps individuals identify sources of free food, and many other resources that can help anyone struggling with food insecurity. The list also contains a Child Meal Map that offers more than 600 schools and community sites that offer free meals to children in the region served by Operation Food Search.

Because traditional food drives that collect nonperishables were limited, Operation Food Search utilized local partnerships in order to raise money for establishing new sources of food and reaching more people in need. Two renowned St. Louis establishments stepped up to help with fundraising and collections and saw great success. Led by James Beard award-winning chef Gerard Craft, Pasta for Packs supported Operation Food Search’s Operation Backpack, which provides weekend meals to food-insecure kids who rely on meals provided at school. His Clayton restaurant, Pastaria, developed pasta and salad meal kits that were distributed to donors who had the chance to be virtually led through preparing their kits by Chef Craft. Over 400 donors took part in preparing pasta and salad and raised $21,465. Additionally, the local brewery, Schlafly, offered visitors the opportunity to trade two nonperishable canned goods for a can of beer. Guests could donate up to 12 canned food items to redeem up to six cans of beer per visit. Innovative partnerships like these are what allowed Operation Food Search to continue to successfully serve a massive geographic range in a challenging time. 

Although the fight against food insecurity is ongoing, Operation Food Search serves an essential role in streamlining and maximizing the impact of the food that is donated throughout St. Louis and the surrounding region. This year more than ever, food pantries and those struggling with hunger needed a group like Operation Food Search who can handle the logistics of delivering $35 million worth of food during a pandemic and lower overall costs, maximizing the effectiveness of every single donated food item. The impact of food insecurity during the pandemic would have been much worse if it were not for Operation Food Search and their efforts to find solutions to all of the unique challenges this year has offered. 

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