FOOD BANK MEETS NEEDS THROUGHOUT THE REGION

Commercial concerns like to locate near the market for their wares. Were it a business enterprise, the Bootheel Food Bank in Sikeston would have found the ideal home. Within its regional purview are seven of the poorest counties in Missouri. The food bank's impact, then, is considerable, and its work remains important in the lives of Southeast Missouri's needy. We applaud the efforts of this organization.

One might perceive of the poor being helped only by government agencies. In fact, the eight-year-old food bank abides by the notion, once prevalent in this nation, that people reach out to help fellow citizens in need. Relying little on government assistance, getting surplus commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the organization takes food products that would otherwise be wasted and puts them in the hands of people doing without. It is the fullest use of these precious resources, and the taxpayers don't shoulder the burden.

Sixteen counties in Southeast Missouri, including Cape Girardeau County, are served by the organization. Harbored in a donated warehouse, the food bank's stock comes almost entirely from contributions, both private and corporate. Companies of national repute Kraft, Kellogg, Nabisco, and so on supply food to the Sikeston facility. Regional and local food suppliers and distributors do the same. More than 3.5 million pounds of it came into the food bank last year.

The products are then dispatched to roughly 200 charitable agencies, ranging from church food pantries to senior centers to safe houses. This web of distribution, utilizing the involvement of local-level agencies whose purpose is seeing that the right people get necessary assistance, guards against fraud or misuse of the food bank. As many as 220,000 people are fed by the agencies that get products from the food bank, a portion of them from counties where up to 36 percent of the residents live below poverty level.

The Bootheel Food Bank, while holding up to 800,000 pounds of food in storage, can't rest on its laurels. Officials there must continually depend on the kindness of strangers and friends alike. However, the good track record of the organization, taken with the simple common sense of its mission, should mean that its suppliers will not dry up. We hope not. The food bank meets a need in our society without requiring layers of government bureaucracy. It puts food where it is needed and helps sustain many in our part of the state. We commend this good work.