February Food Drive Provides Thousands of Meals for St. Louis Area

Our dedication to serving the St. Louis area and an understanding of the issues created by rising food costs made the Vantage Credit Union winter food drive more important than ever this year. Both Vantage members and employees pitched in to make a huge impact.

The most vulnerable in our community are also the most vulnerable to the cost of food, and a food bank or pantry might be the best option to keep food on the table. In a September 2022 Feeding America food bank pulse survey, 90% of responding food banks reported seeing increased or steady demand for services amid food price increases. *

That’s where our members came in!

Member Generosity Makes a World of Difference

All February long, our 13 branches and headquarters accepted non-perishable food items and toiletries donated by our members. Our Twin Cities branch and Lending & Card Services departments led the way with the most items collected, but the friendly competition was a success for all with a total of 3,557 donated items.

Everything collected was delivered to the following food pantries in the communities we serve.

Bridgeton Branch — Loaves & Fishes
Cave Springs Branch — FISH of St. Charles
Creve Coeur Branch — Family Forward
East St. Louis Branch — Macedonia Baptist Church
Greenway Chase Branch — TEAM Food Pantry
Headquarters — O.A.S.I.S. Food Pantry
North County Branch — TEAM Food Pantry
O’Fallon Branch — Chapel of the Lake Food Pantry
Progress Point Branch — Chapel of the Lake Food Pantry
South County Branch — Feed My People
Sunset Hills Branch — Faith Church STL
Twin Cities Branch — Ozark Food Pantry
Wentzville Branch — Crisis Nursery
West County Branch — Agape Help House Food Pantry and Resale Shop

Packing Up Meals at the St. Louis Area Foodbank

While Vantage members participated via donations, our staff gave their time to the St. Louis Area Foodbank in Bridgeton, MO at two volunteer events. In supporting the food bank’s mission to ensure access to food and a healthy diet in Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois, they packaged 23,154 meals and Vantage donated $1,000 to the organization.

For perspective, the amount of food packaged by our volunteers added up to 28,304 lbs, or the equivalent of 21.14 years of food for one person.

Our winter food drive kicked off a great year of giving, and it couldn’t have been so successful without the support of our members. Stay tuned to see our future charitable efforts in 2023.

Thank you for your helping hand in the fight against hunger!