This September Second Harvest Community Food Bank celebrated a milestone, 30 years of nourishing our neighbors in Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. Second Harvest has seen great change over the past thirty years, but the fight against hunger will continue until the hunger lines no longer exist. Hunger is here and so is the solution. Be a part of the solution with your support.

In the spring of 1981, thousands of St. Joseph residents were unemployed. Although the official unemployment rate was reported at 12 percent, the actual rate was close to 20 percent. The plight of the unemployed worsened as unemployment benefits ran out and cuts were made in other social service programs. A number of calls were made to the United Way of Greater St. Joseph Information and Referral line from persons who had witnessed the dumping of hundreds of boxes of seemingly good food at the city landfill. An unrelated call was received from a family whose husband and father had been arrested for taking cans of food from the dumpster of a local supermarket.

On September 21, 1981, a Certificate of Incorporation was issued and filed as Harvesters Food Bank of St. Joseph, Inc. The purpose of the organization was to provide a central clearing house through which the food industry and others could donate edible surplus food and other items. This, in turn, would help to solve emergency food needs of low-income persons and reduce costs of charities by providing them with surplus or salvage food.

In 1982, Jack Habig was selected as the first executive director and the food bank received 501c(3) non-profit status. By 1983, the organization was officially operating as a food bank. Nearly 160,000 pounds of food were distributed to 41 agencies that year.  A van was purchased for transporting donated goods to the food bank in 1984, allowing distribution to grow to 300,000 pounds. In 1985, Jim Long was appointed the second executive director of the food bank.

The food bank became more important than ever in 1993. Many St. Joseph residents were in need of emergency help with the now infamous flood of 1993. The food bank became a warehouse and clearing house for over 270,000 pounds of flood relief product.  Also that year, two major plants in St. Joseph closed, leaving thousands without jobs. That year, Leanne Murray was appointed as executive director.

1994 saw many changes at the food bank. A capital campaign was launched and the food bank moved to its current location, a 16,000 square foot warehouse at 915 Douglas. The effects of a poor economy proved that the food bank was an asset in the St. Joseph community. Food distribution increased to over two million pounds, but the USDA commodities were cut by nearly 70 percent leaving Second Harvest to find food elsewhere. At the same time, Buchanan County, and four other counties served by Second Harvest, saw an increase in unemployment.

In 1996, an important event in food banking nationwide came in the form of legislation. On October 1, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act., which included the following:

• Standardized donor liability in all 50 states when they donate to a non-profit organization;
• Protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith later cause harm to the needy recipient; and
• Sets a liability floor of “gross negligence” or intentional misconduct for persons who donate grocery products; and recognizes that the provision of food close to the date of recommended retail sale is, in and of itself, not groups for finding gross negligence.

A 500 square foot cooler was added to the food bank in 1996, as was a 2,000 square foot freezer. This greatly expanded the food bank’s ability to handle frozen and perishable food items.

Later that year, the food bank was renamed to Second Harvest Food Bank/Mo-Kan Region to strengthen name recognition with the Second Harvest national organization.

In May of 1997, Jason Clark was appointed executive director.  2003 saw a new director, Nicholas Saccaro.

In 2006, America’s Second Harvest celebrated its 25^th anniversary.  During that time, Second Harvest fed more people than ever before by providing more than 2.7 million meals to those in need. Scott Tom became the new Executive Director in December of 2006.

On January 1, 2010, Second Harvest of Greater St. Joseph went through a major re-branding process and became Second Harvest Community Food Bank.  The Board of Directors felt a “one community” mentality was needed to better provide for the 19-county service area.  Despite the name change, Second Harvest’s vision remained the same.

David Davenport became the new Chief Executive Officer  in March of 2011.

In 2011, Second Harvest distributed 4.6 million pounds of food to Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. This was the most food Second Harvest had ever distributed in its history. Also, during 2011, Second Harvest celebrated its 30^th anniversary.