Who

we are

Our Mission

To provide food to people in need in our community. The Heartland Food Bank will provide quality food to the financially disadvantaged residents of Highlands County through the network of certified member agencies.

Unemployment is high

​

Before we opened, the closest food bank was in Lakeland

​

Food was being picked up from grocery stores in Highlands County and taken to Lakeland

- the closest Feeding America Food Bank

Why are we Here?

​

 Highlands is one of the poorest counties in the state

Median income for Highlands is 28% less than the state median

​

72% of Highlands school children receive free or reduced lunch

​

12% of Elderly live in poverty

​

Most people who receive food have at least one employed household member

The need is clear

Where Does the Food Come from?

 Through Feeding America’s national contracts with grocery store chains, HFB became eligible to pick up surplus food from Flowers Bakery, Save-A-Lot, Wal-Mart, Publix, and Winn-Dixie stores throughout Highlands County.  Food drives are held by adult groups as well as school children.  Grants also provide limited funding of food purchases that supplement food distributions; and some local growers are participating. 

How do we accomplish our mission?

The primary purpose of a Food Bank is to supply food to food pantries,

run by non-profits and churches, which provide food directly to needy families in their communities.However, the Heartland Food Bank also operates mobile food pantries by working with partner agencies in low-income communities.In these instances, our refrigerated truck is loaded with food from our warehouse and taken to a designated site where we are assisted by the partner agency to distribute food directly to low-income families in a specific neighborhood.