On Monday morning, we stopped into the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank and were given a wonderful tour by Director of Operations Barbara Grandowicz.  Toledo Food Bank serves 8 counties through a network of more than 300 agencies, and does so with astounding efficieny and passion.  A full 96% of all donations go directly to programs supporting those in need, and as they've seen a 26% spike in visitors over 2008 already, this efficicent system is vital to alleviating growing hunger demands.

In addition to being astoundingly lean and efficient, the small team that manages Toledo Food Bank also shows great creativity in programs to educate agencies and functions to solicit additional funds and food donations.  For example, they host a conference for their network of agencies that provides an opportunity for the various civic and religious groups to get together, share ideas, and celebrate their successes at new ways of providing food.  Part of the agenda of this conference is to identify and discuss any emerging trends in terms of hunger causes, relief efforts, fund raising, etc, and this collaborative approach surely benefits the agencies in the surrounding counties - which empowers them to lend even more support to those in need.

Fun, community-based programs like the annual "Scouting for Food" program that involves Boy Scouts collecting donations at residential homes and then dropping them off at local partnering grocery stores so that the food bank's trucks can operate a quick pick-up, also help to sustain support for hunger relief.  As is the case at every place we've visited, volunteers also perform the lion's share of the work, and it's something to appreciate that there are so many people willing to get involved.  The video clip provides more details on the programs and people involved, but suffice it to say this was another incredible stop on the 2009 tour!