Argus Leader: Food Bank Changes Name

Story by: Steve Young, May 13, 2009

Community Food Banks of South Dakota has changed its name but not its mission.

The hunger relief organization that serves more than 100,000 individuals each year across the state now will be called Feeding South Dakota.

That's in keeping with the change of its national partner's name from America's Second Harvest to Feeding America. But it also reflects the organization's evolution during the past decade, said Kay Torney, network services manager for the agency.

"'Community Food Banks' just doesn't seem to fit any more," Torney said Wednesday. "We run two food pantries. We have the BackPack programs. We distribute the Commodities Supplemental Food Program. So 'Community' sounds like a smaller connotation than 'Feeding South Dakota.' "

At a time when one in eight Americans receives food stamps, and food banks are straining to meet demands, Feeding South Dakota is:

• Providing food resources for 3,800 South Dakotans every day.
• Feeding 38,000 families each month.
• Giving food every weekend through its BackPack programs to 4,389 children.

In 2009, Feeding South Dakota distributed 10 million pounds of food out of its Sioux Falls and Rapid City sites, Torney said. Now it's opening a third site, in Pierre.

Bernie Jassmann, the Pierre site manager, said his facility means food pantries and other agencies in the central corridor of South Dakota won't have to travel to Rapid City and Sioux Falls for supplies.

"Central South Dakota is so underserved," he said. "Our goal is to serve Mobridge down to Winner. And in a best-case scenario, there could be a point where we could establish a route and take products out to agencies."

Pierre opened its doors Monday and still is in the process of putting in a freezer and walk-in cooler for perishable items. Jassmann said the grand opening is Friday, and they anticipate that business will pick up quickly.

Once Pierre is up and running, Torney said she expects her agency to be able to do something that is meaningful even better.

"We're going to be able to put into position food supplies so that everybody has access to food as much as possible," she said. "We can always have something there, if people want to come and get it."

Reach reporter Steve Young at 331-2306.

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