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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe move to 6490 Broadway happened in 2018 and the following year \u2014 its first full year in the new digs \u2014 the nonprofit set what was then a record of 6 million pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, COVID-19 hit and pushed the total to 11 million pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat nearly doubled our capacity,\u201d says Amy Brise\u00f1o, vice president of Development and Communications for the organization. \u201cNo one would have predicted that. It just crushed that record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really amazing when you think about it. It accelerated our growth. We were able to respond to it due to the wonderful support locally from the communities. Companies, corporations and individuals were able to give as well as COVID response money and the grants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that large institutions such as universities and schools and others that had to shut down and had an abundance of food sent it right to the food bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The food bank has since distributed 9 million pounds in 2021, 7 million each in 2022 and last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of it serves families, children, seniors and individuals in Lake and Porter Counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19 also changed the way the organization does certain things, such as outdoor services, boxed meals and the National Guard implementing its own system inside the facility for more efficient ways to collect and distribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the shut down, National Guard members were the only people allowed to work in the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After that, \u201cwe had to make our own army and we had to recruit a large volume of volunteers just for our daily operational needs,\u201d Briseno says. \u201cThey were carrying out what the National Guard helped create.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Briseno said the Food Bank of NWI is not the largest such facility in the state, but it does have the largest caseload, including 1,700 senior citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s sobering,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s astounding to think about all of the elders who are food insecure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The food bank\u2019s big fundraiser, the Hunger Hike, took place Sept. 21 at the Lake Country Fairgrounds. Individuals and teams walked to raise more than $1.2 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Briseno said that the network of agency partners shared in the event. The food bank partners with 110 agencies in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey help fundraise for us, and we fundraise for them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt helps strengthen our agency partner network. They create their own teams, and we encourage people, companies and sponsors to donate to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The food bank is also ramping up with a locker program that allows people to order their food and pick it up at an area locker at their convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lockers are available in Merrillville, East Chicago, Gary, Valparaiso and South Haven, which plans for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing,\u201d Briseno says. \u201cWe\u2019re one of the first food banks in the Feeding America Network to have a successful locker program up and running.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group is always on the lookout for volunteers \u2014 especially for its mobile market program in which the food bank provides drive-thru service in various communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe always need mobile-market volunteers first and foremost,\u201d Briseno says. \u201cWe heed to have enough volunteers to get that food out every month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She adds that volunteers also are particularly needed in the colder months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vasinvictor.com\/DEVfoodbank\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/nwi-times-6.jpg\")
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