1. Date: 4/7/2015
Name of Organization: Food Finders Food Bank, Inc
Employee Identification Number (EIN): 31-1020198
Phone: 765-471-0062
Fax: 465-471-1101
Address: 50 Olympia Ct Lafayette IN 47909
Contact Individuals: Lindsay Walls, Director of Development; Katy Bunder, Executive
Director
Amount Requested: $30,000
Brief History of Food Finders Food Bank:
Food Finders’ main mission is to feed the hungry in Mid-North Indiana through the locating and
distributing of food to agencies that operate food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. Food
Finders started in 1981 through a collaboration of labor unions, churches, non-profit
organizations, and dedicated citizens in the Greater Lafayette area. The various groups
collaborated to come up with a method for rescuing food that was being discarded and bringing
this food to non-profit groups that feed those in need.
The food bank started in a two-car garage on Earl Avenue with an all-volunteer staff. In the first
year, 27,000 pounds of food were salvaged and distributed to various groups. To put this into
perspective 27,000 pounds of food equates to about 20,300 meals provided for the hungry in
Greater Lafayette.
Within three years, Food Finders had grown to the point where the organization needed to
expand. The organization moved to Canal Road where they operated for nineteen years. Then in
2000, thanks to a successful capital campaign and Focus Grant from the Indiana Department of
Commerce the food bank moved to its current location on Olympia Ct. In 2013 Food Finders
distributed more than 7 million pounds of food.
Purpose of Grant:
Food Finders Food Bank is requesting a gift of $30,000 to support our Senior Grocery Program
in Tippecanoe County. Piloted in the spring of 2013 the program provides monthly deliveries of
pre-packaged staple food items, which are carefully selected to meet the unique nutritional needs
of the senior population based on nutrition recommendations from Feeding America.
Additionally, we provide “choice”-style food pantry distributions at the time of delivery of the
boxes, offering a variety of fresh produce, frozen meats, dairy and baked goods. Currently Food
Finders operates the Senior Grocery Program in partnership with four sites, including Jenks Rest
Senior Center and sites in Miami, Pulaski, Cass, Clinton, and Jasper Counties. The program
serves approximately 448 seniors a month.

2. Food Finders’ Senior Grocery Program model addresses gaps in service to seniors in two ways:
1) by eliminating barriers to accessing food through existing channels; and 2) by providing
access to nutritious food where no other resources exist of provide an adequate amount. Thought
there are a number of meal-based programs available to seniors, such as Meals on Wheels, there
are no programs designed to provide groceries for seniors to prepare meals at home on a
consistent basis. What’s more, existing food sources, such as our own Mobile Pantry
distributions and local food pantries are inaccessible to homebound or disabled seniors.
Strong partnerships help any major non-profit project but they are critical for the long-term
viability of the current Senior Grocery Program. To that end, we have developed our model in a
way that maximizes our existing food delivery routing, partnerships, and infrastructure, so that
we can focus our resources on providing high quality food. For example, we have combined
distribution with nearby scheduled agency deliveries, which cuts down on transport costs. We
have also leveraged volunteers, processes, and supplies from existing box programs within our
service area- including a strong partnership with a local church community- to facilitate the
creation of boxes for this new program.
Our pilot program was funded by generous grants from Feeding America and AARP; however
this grant funding expired in the spring of 2014, and we will need to continue to find additional
sources of funding to keep the program running. A $30,000 gift from Specialty Food
Association will provide approximately 5000 senior boxes for the program.