Our food bank assists families in the Brookings area who are without food. Each month we distribute a box of nutritional food to individuals and families, for three to five days of meals.
The Brookings Harbor Food Bank was established in 1984 by a group of citizens who recognized a need to assist hungry families. The food bank was originally in a local church’s hall, then over the years made three more moves to larger spaces. In 2006 a property within the city limits of Brookings was donated to the food bank. Through generous donations from local residents and grants from The Ford Family Foundation and The Collins Foundation, the food bank was able to construct a state-of-the-art distribution warehouse, a long standing dream come true. Lease payments, or mortgage payments were no longer necessary. Those savings are now applied to food purchases.
The Food Bank strives to maintain our client’s dignity by offering a shopping style system whereby each person chooses the products that are needed for individual situations. The system not only empowers the client, it allows the food bank to operate on a zero-waste concept.
With generous product and monetary donations from individuals, clubs, churches and businesses, and with food drives conducted by local organizations and schools, the food bank still finds it necessary to spend in the neighborhood of $20,000 – $30,000 per year in food purchases. These statistics illustrate the continuing need for assistance from the community. Without this assistance the food bank would no longer be able to help the families who need A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT.
