Foodlink: Working Toward Hunger-free Communities

In 1976 on a local news show, Tom Ferraro appealed for food donations from the community in support of an increasing number of emergency food pantries. He received a call to pick up a food donation from the warehouse manager of Thomas English Muffins, which filled up an entire school bus – and thus the seeds of Foodlink were sown.

Foodlink started as the Genesee Valley Regional Food Clearinghouse, which was later renamed as the Genesee Valley Food Bank and then its current name in 1992. Despite the name changes, the non-profit organization’s mission has remained through the years – to rescue and redistribute food that would otherwise be wasted from a wide range of donors including manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants to human service organizations.

Today, Foodlink serves several of these organizations in the 10-county area encompassing the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York; the counties are Allegany, Genesee, Orleans, Seneca, Livingston, Monroe, Wayne, Wyoming, Ontario, and Yates. The non-profit organization has rescued and redistributed more than 18 million pounds of food yearly to its network of 500 programs. Foodlink is also a founding member of Feeding America, thus, making it an active part of 200 food banks across the United States.

Together with its donors and stakeholders, Foodlink is linking people in need with the nutritious food that they require for daily survival. Foodlink’s regional network including its agencies serves 15 million meals on an annual basis to approximately 200,000 people. Since its establishment, the organization has distributed an estimated $125 million worth of food for the various communities it serves.

But it does not stop there. Foodlink also provides beneficiaries with nutrition education courses, among other 30- food-related programs.

By directly addressing the health disparities associated with food insecurity, Foodlink continues to make a positive impact on the community and, in the process, work toward a hunger-free America.