By CINDY GONZALEZ
Nebraska Examiner
OMAHA — The Food Bank for the Heartland says it is seeing the most “sustained hunger crisis” in its 40-year history, and a donation announced Tuesday from Google is to provide up to 600,000 meals.
The $150,000 donation from the tech giant was announced during an event attended also by the mayors of Council Bluffs, Papillon and Omaha.
Across the Omaha-based food bank’s Nebraska and western Iowa service area, one out of every 10 people is facing food insecurity, including one in seven children, according to a statement.
The nonprofit food bank served more than 1.6 million individuals through its 544 partners last year, a 25% increase over the previous year.
Brian Barks, president and CEO of Food Bank for the Heartland, said the Google gift comes at the right time.
“It will make a lasting impact on neighbors making unthinkable decisions right now, as the cost of everyday essentials continues to rise,” he said.
Google planted roots in the Omaha metro area in 2009 with a Council Bluffs data center campus. The tech giant came to Papillion in 2019 and is expanding there, and now also is building a data center in northwest Omaha.
“Many local food pantries are partners of Food Bank for the Heartland, so this donation is a welcome boost to our Sarpy County organizations and neighbors in need of assistance,” said Papillion Mayor David Black.