Today (Thursday, November 10, 2022), the River Valley Regional Food Bank announced a partnership with Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, and Feeding America® to immediately deliver meals to Arkansans in need and build long term technology solutions to scale their impact and provide their community with greater access to resources.
This announcement is part of a larger initiative from Google.org and Feeding America to help provide 50 million meals* to communities across the United States.
. The River Valley Regional Food Bank has seen this need first hand. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in
2020, the food bank has experienced an increase in demand of nearly 60%, while food costs and transportation expenses continue to rise.
The food bank is on pace to provide more than 15 million pounds of food — or 12,500,000 meals — to residents in an eight-county distribution area in the Arkansas River Valley in 2022.
“We have an old, outdated inventory system that is in need of upgrade,” River Valley Regional Food Bank Director Tracy Engel said. “Without Google, we wouldn’t be able to update our inventory system. Our agencies can look at inventory in real-time, and we can have a better
Today, 34 million Americans, including 9 million children, are facing food insecurity. Among
Feeding America network food banks, 90% report an increased or sustained need over the last
month. Food banks themselves face mounting headwinds as food donations decline and costs
rise for freight, food purchase and every other aspect of operations
grasp on the items in our warehouse which will ensure we are meeting the needs of the food insecure in our area.”
Nationally, Google sees a spike in searches for food support every November, but more than ever before, Americans are making searches around “food” and “prices” in 2022. They are also searching “how to give back” more than ever, with searches for “where to donate food near me” skyrocketing 850% over the past five years.
“Addressing food insecurity requires a sustained and coordinated approach. We’re proud to partner with Feeding America to deliver over 50 million meals to people in need, and to work with them to strengthen their technology infrastructure,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’re also making our products, like Search and Maps, more helpful to people searching for resources or ways to give back.”
River Valley residents can help support the food bank’s efforts to feed those in need in our community by donating non-perishable food items, host a food or fundraising drive, or volunteer for a shift at the food bank.
The River Valley Regional Food Bank will also receive donated Search Ads to connect people looking for help with resources, provide avenues for others to give back and drive food security awareness nationwide.
For more information about River Valley Regional Food Bank, visit rvrfoodbank.org.
*$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local member food banks.
