Meet Our Members - St. Leo's Food Connection

St. Leo Food Connection!

Pierce County's Largest Food Bank

From their beginnings in a Hilltop garage in 1982 to today, the St. Leo Food Connection has been a consistent source of nutritious food and caring for people in need throughout Pierce County.

The multiple programs they operate include:

1. the St. Leo Food Bank, the largest food bank in Pierce County, serving nearly 10,000 families per month.
2. the Springbrook Mobile Food Bank.
3. a Backpack Program that provides two days worth of kid-friendly food to elementary school students on Fridays throughout the school year to nearly 400 children in 11 schools.
4. fifteen Summer Meals sites, providing children 18 and younger with lunch and a snack on weekdays throughout the summer (in Summer 2010 they ran 25 sites but plan to pull back in 2011 and focus on strategic sites).
5. the Sutherland Orchard, which provides organic apples and berries for their clients.
6. Leo's Garden, a demonstration and community garden located at the St. Leo Food Connection.

St. Leo's takes pride in distributing nutritious food, realizing that their clients are among society's most vulnerable: Over 50 percent of their clients at both the St. Leo Food Bank and the Springbrook Mobile Food Bank are children and the elderly. These populations are the most affected by a compromised diet. They require no proof of need from our clients, serving all Pierce County residents who come to them. All of their donated food and funds come from individuals, businesses, foundations, and other organizations.

More images from the Food Connection:

Kevin Glackin-Coley serves as the Executive Director of St. Leo's Food Connection.

Leo's Garden, when in season, provides opportunities for gardening demonstrations and fresh produce.

During operating hours, this room is buzzing with clients being served through the food bank, where they are able to shop and pick out items that are appropriate for their family's needs.

These supplies are for the backpack program and are items that make it easy for children to prepare their own meals.

This fruit picker is used by volunteers in the Gleaning Project to pull down fresh fruit from nearby orchards.

Food Connection operates 2 large vans for food pickup, delivery, and mobile food banking.