John Deere Foundation commits $18.5 million to food banks and the farms that supply them, most of it in Iowa
The three-year grants, announced Oct. 13, give $17 million to Feeding America and $1.5 million to The Farmlink Project. More than $13 million goes to Iowa, where three food banks will buy directly from many more farmers.
Des Moines. The John Deere Foundation will spend $18.5 million over the next three years on food banks and the farms that supply them, with more than $13 million of it going to Iowa, the foundation said on Oct. 13. The announcement was made at the headquarters of Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines.
The larger grant, $17 million, goes to Feeding America, the national network of more than 250 food banks. The other $1.5 million goes to The Farmlink Project, a national nonprofit that moves surplus produce from farms to food banks and community groups. The foundation, founded in 1948, says it has made more than $400 million in charitable contributions.
Three Iowa food banks and their farmers
Part of the Feeding America grant pays for a new Farm to Food Bank initiative at Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines, River Bend Food Bank in Davenport and Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo. The food banks choose the foods their communities need and buy produce, dairy, meat and eggs directly from nearby farms. Together they now buy from about 20 producers, and John Deere expects the effort to add 117 farmers.
Food Bank of Iowa will receive $1 million a year for three years, split among buying from farms, operating costs and volunteer programs with John Deere staff, Annette Hacker, its chief communications and strategy officer, said, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch. Emily Shearer, its vice president of food acquisition, said the money will more than double the food bank's local purchasing and that the food bank plans to add 10 to 12 producers in each of the three years.
The rest of the Feeding America grant pays for food sourcing and distribution across the national network and for yearly meal packing events held on paid working time. The foundation projects that about 22,000 John Deere employees will pack 1.8 million meals from 2026 to 2029.
Surplus food from farms
The Farmlink grant is meant to recover surplus food from farms and send it to communities facing food insecurity. Over the three years, the foundation projects, the partnership will deliver 6.4 million pounds of rescued fresh produce, which it counts as 5.3 million meals, reach more than 273,000 people and work with 30 to 60 farming operations in several states.
“Too much of America's fresh food still never leaves the farm.”
Katie Sorrell, executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association, said food insecurity rose in every Iowa county over the past year, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.
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