N※N

Omaha Mayor Announces City-Wide Food Drive to Combat Food Insecurity

  //food-wine.news-articles.net/content/2025/11/07 .. y-wide-food-drive-to-combat-food-insecurity.html
  Published in Food and Wine on Friday, November 7th 2025 at 13:19 GMT by KETV Omaha
          ^{🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source}

2025-11-07 179 x 224 / 9681 Bytes

2025-11-07 251 x 201 / 10118 Bytes

2025-11-07 179 x 224 / 14628 Bytes

2025-11-07 217 x 224 / 9616 Bytes

A Quick Recap of the Drive’s Origins

The drive kicked off last fall, shortly after the Omaha Food Bank announced a need for 200,000 non‑perishable items to help offset rising food insecurity amid the pandemic’s lingering effects. The City of Omaha, the mayor’s office, and the nonprofit community partner, the Omaha Food Bank, formalized an agreement to collect, sort, and deliver groceries to local shelters, churches, and community centers. Since then, a network of volunteer “Food Drive Champions”—school teachers, business owners, and civic leaders—has coordinated pickup and drop‑off points across all five counties in the Omaha metropolitan area.

According to the city’s own City of Omaha Food Bank Outreach page, more than 60,000 pounds of food have already been collected, with a target set at 200,000 pounds for the year. That number is expected to climb sharply during the upcoming holiday season as the city ramps up its partnership with the Omaha Public Schools (OPS) and the Catholic Diocese of Omaha.

The Mayor’s Key Points

During the live broadcast, Mayor Groce highlighted several milestones:

1. Donations and Donations Channels – Over 1,200 individual donors and 45 corporate partners have pledged to drop off groceries at designated locations. The mayor emphasized how corporate contributions—particularly from local grocery chains—have been essential in meeting the drive’s ambitious targets.

2. Volunteer Mobilization – “Our volunteers are the backbone of this initiative,” Groce said. He credited the city’s Volunteer Management System (VMS) for coordinating 800 volunteers who have spent more than 5,000 hours sorting and distributing food. The mayor also pointed to the VMS’s integration with the city’s Omaha Connect app, which now lets residents sign up for shifts and receive real‑time updates on food needs.

3. Distribution Efforts – The mayor explained that the Omaha Food Bank has partnered with 25 community organizations, including the Salvation Army, Mercy Hospital, and the Omaha Food Bank itself, to distribute food through “food truck” drives and pop‑up pantry sites. He announced that the city will be adding a second “food truck” to its fleet for the holidays.

4. Future Plans – The mayor discussed plans to expand the drive’s reach into neighboring counties—Council Bluffs, Nebraska and Pottawattamie County—to create a more unified regional response to hunger. He also mentioned a partnership with the Kirkwood Food Bank and the Douglas County Food Bank to streamline the logistics.

5. Call to Action – “The city is doing what we can, but we still need your help,” Groce urged. He encouraged residents to drop off non‑perishable items—canned vegetables, dry rice, pasta, and canned soups—at any of the 60 drop‑off locations listed on the Omaha Food Bank’s official page. He also reminded viewers that the city’s Community Giving Platform accepts online contributions and can send a donation directly to local shelters.

Highlights from the City’s Partnerships

A portion of the broadcast was devoted to interviews with key partners:

• Omaha Food Bank Director, Dr. Linda Patel – Dr. Patel explained how the drive’s logistics are managed. She highlighted the importance of “cold chain” storage for perishable items and how the city’s partnership with Local Food Distributors ensures that fresh produce and dairy items are kept at safe temperatures. The director cited a 20% increase in perishable donations this year, a shift attributed to community education campaigns on the “Buy Fresh, Stay Healthy” initiative.

• Omaha Public Schools (OPS) Liaison, Ms. Alicia Ramirez – Ms. Ramirez spoke about the school district’s role in encouraging students and families to bring in food donations. She also mentioned a new “Food Drive Club” at several high schools, where students earn academic credits by organizing local collection efforts.

• Catholic Diocese of Omaha Representative, Rev. Peter O’Malley – Rev. O’Malley talked about the Diocese’s role as a “Faith‑Based Anchor” for the program. He emphasized the Diocese’s 10-year tradition of hosting community pantries in parishes and how the current food drive’s surplus items are being routed to the Catholic Charities of Omaha for direct distribution to families in need.

Media Coverage and Public Engagement

The live segment was accompanied by real‑time graphics showing the number of items collected so far, the number of volunteers on duty, and a live map of drop‑off locations. A sidebar on the KETV website also featured a countdown timer to the next major distribution event on December 15th.

KETV’s article linked to the City of Omaha’s Official Food Bank Page (https://www.cityofomaha.org/foodbank), where viewers could download a printable flyer, sign up to volunteer, and access the VMS. It also linked to the Omaha Public Schools Food Drive Club page (https://www.ops.edu/fooddriveclub) and the Catholic Diocese of Omaha Food Relief Program (https://www.dioceseofomaha.org/foodrelief). All three pages included up‑to‑date contact information and instructions for donors, including a note that “all items must be sealed in plastic or Styrofoam containers to ensure freshness.”

Bottom Line

Mayor Groce’s live update offered a snapshot of a city-wide effort that has mobilized nearly a million residents, thousands of volunteers, and a coalition of nonprofits. The drive’s success lies in its integrated approach: combining city infrastructure, community partnerships, and technology (the VMS and Omaha Connect app) to streamline donation collection and distribution. While the city remains optimistic about meeting its 200,000‑pound target, the mayor’s message was clear: the drive is a community effort, and it needs every citizen’s participation.

With the holiday season approaching, the Omaha community is encouraged to keep contributing, whether by dropping off non‑perishables, signing up as a volunteer, or making an online donation. For more details on how you can help, visit the City of Omaha’s Food Bank page, check out the OPS Food Drive Club website, or contact the Catholic Diocese of Omaha’s Food Relief Program. The city’s collective efforts demonstrate that, when a city rallies together, it can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those facing food insecurity.