St. Mary’s is the First Food Bank in the world and was started here in Phoenix in 1967 by John Van Hengel with a $3000 loan from his church, St. Mary’s Basilica. He paid back the loan but named the food bank after the church. So even though we are not affiliated with the church, the name remains as a legacy to founding supporter.
The Food Bank concept spread up the West Coast and eventually throughout the country and eventually became what is now the Feeding America Network of Food Banks.
Today, their network of partners includes 700 non-profits throughout the state in 9 counties.
Their network served 2.4 million visits in 2024. Over 1 in 8 Arizona Households and 1 in 5 children are food insecure which means that during the year, they have changed their eating habits because of lack of access to food.
Milt has helped continue on the original concept of the Food Bank and now, they serve neighbors throughout the year, but during the holidays, they are especially focused on ensuring that neighbors can celebrate Thanksgiving because it is such an important meal holiday. They will serve over 25,000 Thanksgiving meals in Phoenix and Surprise.
CEO's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miltliu/
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stmarys-foodbank/posts/?feedView=all
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