Illinois John Deere And River Bend Food Bank Celebrate Fundraiser Total
Moline–On Thursday evening, The John Deere Foundation and River Bend Food Bank jointly
hosted a celebration at The John Deere Pavilion to celebrate the conclusion of a 2-month long
fundraising campaign.
The match campaign, titled “Plowing a New Path to End Hunger,” began in August 2023 with a pledge
from The John Deere Foundation to match community donations raised by River Bend Food Bank up
to $650,000. This investment, combined with matching community donations, would allow River Bend
to purchase an additional 6.5 million meals, closing the meal gap in Scott, Rock Island, and Dubuque
Counties. River Bend Food Bank called upon their community partners in these three counties with
the challenge of collectively matching this donation.
At Thursday’s event, the raised amount of $1,611,200 was revealed at the community celebration. In
addition to the initial $650,000 pledged by John Deere, 104 businesses and individuals contributed to
the campaign.
“We are absolutely floored with the response we received from the community,” said Nancy Renkes,
President & CEO of River Bend Food Bank. “The commitment to ending hunger was on full display by
John Deere and our community partners throughout this campaign, and we are extremely proud and
humbled by the generosity in this community.”
The event was attended by representatives of John Deere, River Bend Food Bank, the city of Moline
and various community partners and donors. Speaking presentations were given by:
Laura Eberlin, Global Corporate Social Responsibility Lead, John Deere
Nancy Renkes, President & CEO, River Bend Food Bank
Marie Ziegler, Board Chair, River Bend Food Bank
Mayor Rayapati, City of Moline
Laura Eberlin, Global Corporate Social Responsibility Lead for John Deere was also thrilled with the
outcome.
“Closing the meal gap in these three counties shows the power of community. No one can tackle
something as big as ending hunger alone” said Eberlin. But when people come together around a
shared belief that everyone deserves access to healthy food, we can win this war against hunger.”
River Bend Food Bank reports that the meal gap (the translation of the food budget shortfall into
several meals) was over 6.4 million meals in 2022 between Scott, Rock Island and Dubuque
Counties. Through the “Plowing a New Path” campaign, River Bend will be able to purchase over 8
million meals, closing this gap for one full year in these three counties.
“It truly feels amazing to reach this goal,” said Renkes. “But I also feel that our supporters know that
this is just the beginning. Together, we can continue this momentum, and make hunger a thing of the
past.”
River Bend Food Bank works with 400+ hunger-relief partners in 23 counties to make sure people
facing hunger have reliable access to healthy food. Leading the community-wide effort to eliminate
hunger in eastern Iowa and western Illinois, the Food Bank distributes over 20 million meals each
year to hungry people through food pantries, schools, senior residences, and community
organizations. River Bend Food Bank will feed people today and end hunger tomorrow.
As part of their core mission to combat food insecurity worldwide the John Deere Foundation has
committed $200M over the next decade to create long-lasting, purposeful impact for the communities
they serve and for the families who live, work, and learn with them. They support food and nutrition at
every stage – from empowering farmers to partnering with local food banks to ensure those in need
have access to nutritious food.
