The State Department of Agriculture plans to distribute a total of $300,000 in state funding to 11 Indiana food banks to provide assistance and services to Hoosiers in need.
Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, the state’s food bank association, said the impact of the COVID-19 virus is estimated to increase food insecurity among Indiana residents by 40% this year. That puts one in five Hoosiers at risk of hunger and includes more than 414,500 children.
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana will receive the largest amount of funding, nearly $100,000.
The funding was provided by the Indiana Legislature, as part of the biennial budget. The distribution amounts were determined using the Emergency Food Assistance Program fair share percentage, which captures poverty and unemployment levels in each county.