News

Operation Food Search bringing fresh local food to Thanksgiving

A government program, a non-profit group, and local farmers are teaming up to help those less fortunate this Thanksgiving.

Brian DeSmet, program operations manager for Illinois EATS with Operation Food Search, a food bank serving 23 counties in Illinois and Missouri, says local food purchased through the Illinois-EATS program is headed to Thanksgiving tables throughout the St. Louis metro area.

“What we’re able to do is give them fresh, kind of what I call, first foods.”  He says, “Straight from the farm.  We might get something that was picked yesterday, so that’s not something that you really get at food pantries in general.”

Clint Bland, of Bland Family Farm in Jacksonville, Illinois, grew some of the produce included in the distribution.

“It takes many, many farms in order to help supply, you know, what a lot of these folks in a lot of these communities are needing.”  He says, “We’ve had to adapt what we grow specific for the Illinois-EATS program.  It’s a bit more on the, you know, meat and potatoes side of things.”

DeSmet tells Brownfield the program supports the farms and addresses ongoing food security issues.  

“It’s not just the farmers.”  He says, “There’s the clients we serve who are able to get this healthy, nutritious food that wasn’t available to them previously.” 

Bland says the program has been a gamechanger for regionally produced food.

“It’s been huge.”  He says, “You’re able to get wholesale type volume at closer to an actual retail price.”

DeSmet says around 200 families will enjoy locally grown turkey with all the sides courtesy of the program.

AUDIO: Brian DeSmet – Operation Food Search

AUDIO: Clint Bland – Illinois farmer