Volunteer UI academics pack food on February 20, 2019 at the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which increased its food distribution by 39% by 2020.

The Hoosier Hills Food Bank increased its food distribution by 39% by 2020, distributing a total of 7089749 pounds of food.

This is a record amount of food distributed across the organization. Ryan Jochim, Director of Volunteering services and Community Engagement, said he will satisfy this desire in the future.

The Hoosier Hills Food Bank supplies food to nonprofit agencies, pantry and shelters in Brown, Lawrence, Orange, Owen, Martin and Monroe counties, and also has a cell food bank.

Julio Alonso, ceo and CEO of the food bank, said the organization had lost many volunteers and suffered a decrease in donations as a result of the pandemic.

“We had to replace all our protocols with touchless or low touch distributions,” Alonso said.

Letters Carrier’s food in Hoosier Hills and summer orientation food had to be cancelled.

To compensate for the loss of donations, Alonso said Hoosier Hills had bought 3 times more food by 2020 than in 2019.

Brandon Bartley, director of food source and food policy, said the food bank also earned more than a million pounds of food boxes in the coronavirus food assistance program.

Bartley said the pandemic has exacerbated equity considerations in the food bank’s service area. Bartley said some communities of color that want food to the fullest can’t.

“Much of this food is in our warehouse, and we would love to move it and we need to work very hard in the right communities to move that food,” Bartley said.

Alonso also said consumers and outdoor agencies can simply stop shopping at the food bank and decide on their own items.

The Alonso food bank had implemented new programs, such as on-site food distribution.

“By the time they finished, we had served more than 10,400 homes,” Alonso said.

Related: [Hoosier Hills Food Bank will distribute new and loose food every Friday in June]

Jochim said the food bank had to eliminate the volunteer systems he manages. One of the cutting systems had between 15 and 20 volunteers each night.

Before the pandemic, Jochim said volunteers can simply sort into the food bank, prepare food, blank and paintings in the office.

Alonso said the National Guard had started the pantry by the end of March to complete the loss of volunteers.

“We were able to deliver a lot of food during the summer and in the overdue fall, thank you for your help,” Jochim said.

The Hoosier Hills Food Bank will host its annual 27th Soup Bowl Benefit this year.

The Soup Bowl Benefit is held at the Monroe County Convention Center, and attendees can enjoy soups from local restaurants, pay attention to music, and date a bowl made through a local potter.

This year, attendees can stream entertainment on February 21 after purchasing tickets. The bowls will be randomly distributed to taste before the event.

The 3 things the food bank still needs, Alonso said, are volunteers, donations of non-perishable food and monetary support.

Interested volunteers can Ryan Jochim in secretariat@hhfoodbank. org.