In this week's North American Ag Spotlight Chrissy Wozniak opens with a personal account of the days after Hurricane Ian devastated her community, and how Midwest Foodbank showed up when the community needed hope more than ever! Her local church @Cape Vineyard was stocked with food from Midwest Foodbank and other organizations, and was ready to serve the people fast! Joining her today to talk about the hurricane impact and how they embraced the opportunity to serve are two guests, Karl Steidinger, Executive Director of the Midwest Food Bank & Scot Buss, Marketing and Development Manager of the Midwest Foodbank, Florida.
As a faith-based organization, it is the mission of Midwest Food Bank to share the love of Christ by alleviating hunger and malnutrition locally and throughout the world and providing disaster relief; all without discrimination. Their vision is to provide industry-leading food relief to those in need while feeding them spiritually.
Their story started in 2003 when the Kieser family actioned their faith to share their blessings. They turned a shed on their family farm into a distribution site for local food pantries. Soon they realized the need was more significant, and there was room for growth. Thanks to the generosity of their donors, the valuable work of volunteers, and most importantly, the blessings of God, Midwest Food Bank now shares the blessings worldwide. Midwest Food Bank currently distributes nearly $36 million worth of food to over 2,100 non-profit organizations each month. This is done from our twelve locations in Illinois, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, New England, East Africa, and Haiti.
Born in Central IL Karl grew up in a family of 5. After graduating high school Karl went to work as a delivery driver for a local Feed Mill. He married Carrie Steffen July 20 2003 and together they have 3 children. Karl and Carrie moved their family to Cape Coral FL in 2016 and began working at a local ministry for single mothers. In 2017 Karl joined MFB as Operations Manager and later that same year assumed the role of Executive Director. Karl enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and shooting. “I feel blessed to be able to live out my faith in my occupation The MFB mission of, sharing the love of Christ while alleviating hunger and malnutrition and providing disaster relief, aligns well with my faith and I am grateful to be a small part of this fantastic organization.”
Scot Buss found his calling when he started working in non-profit 5 years ago. He brings a business mind to the non-profit sector with over 25 years of sales experience. When he is not promoting #MFBFlorida, Scot coaches an Under-12 football team the South Naples Trojans. He also sits on a non-profit board and regularly volunteers his time serving underprivileged youth. Scot is so excited to be the Marketing and Development Manager at MFB Florida. He wants to be a "cog in the machine" that can end food insecurities in SW Florida.
Learn more about Midwest Foodbank at https://midwestfoodbank.org.