Val Vista Lakes GIVES
How two hours with Stroll volunteering at Midwest Food Bank can change a life
The Midwest Food Bank volunteer corps is over 8,000 strong. Let me relay a story about one of
those volunteers, let us call him Brian. He clicked on a link from Stroll Val Vista Lakes magazine
on social media in January 2024, looking for participants to volunteer for two hours at a place
called Midwest Food Bank.
Even though it was a Saturday, (Brian likes to sleep in on the weekends), he crawled out of bed
at the ungodly hour of 8am and drove the 4.3 miles to the food bank. Brian, along with about
sixty-five newfound friends including five VVL neighbors, packaged school meal kids (for
schools to give out to students to bring home over the weekends). Having explored what
Midwest Food Bank does and seeing the importance of this collaborative effort right in his
backyard, Brian came back and volunteered the next Saturday, and the one after that. Pretty
soon, it was forty of the 52 weekends in 2024 that Brian found himself at Midwest Food Bank.
Now an almost three-year veteran of food bank operations, Brian was appointed to the Advisory
Board of the Midwest Food Bank in February, 2026. This volunteer story started because one
Val Vista Lakes resident reached out to the community looking for volunteers and Brian was
encouraged to get out of his comfort zone and give back to the community. You too can be part
of Val Vista Lakes effort to give back to its surrounding community, one volunteer at a time.
On July 25, 2026, Stroll Val Vista Lakes Magazine and Matt Dallas continued its decade long
partnership with Midwest Food Bank with multiple Val Vista Lakes residents volunteering at the
Gilbert warehouse to package food that will utilized by its 280 partner agencies as part of the
daily food supply donation supporting those who are experiencing food insecurity.
Summer Water Drive continues through October 1, 2026
The Midwest Food Bank is collecting cases of water as Arizona continues its daily navigation of
110 degree temperatures. To drop off cases of water, visit the Midwest Food Bank at 725 East
Baseline Road, Gilbert, Arizona 85233 or to donate financially, visit www.midwestfoodbank.org
Never too early to start thinking about the 2026 Arizona Tax Credit
The residents of Val Vista Lakes are in a unique position to have a lasting impact on the
operations of Midwest Food Bank by making a monetary donation via the Arizona Charitable
Tax Credit. Individuals can donate for 2026 (through April 15, 2027) $506 (or $1,009 if filing
married filing jointly) The contributions will not cost you a dime. In Arizona, you are getting
dollar-for-dollar credit for taxes you have already paid and instead of the money going to the
state, it goes to your designated Qualified Charitable Organization, which in this case is Midwest
Food Bank.
The impact is real. A contribution of $506 gets leveraged in to supplying $15,180 worth of food.
That is real dollars helping to solve a real problem. There are thousands of people who have
shelter but do not have access to one meal, let alone three meals a day. And think of the
children in our area. In this inflationary economy, all financial resources for a family could be
going to shelter, rent and skyrocketing
utility costs, leaving extraordinarily little if anything to cover food. Over 12% of the residents of
Arizona and right here in Gilbert are experiencing hunger, creating a truly emergent situation
that grows every day.
Midwest Food Bank Thankful for Val Vista Lakes
Val Vista Lakes residents and businesses have generously supported Midwest Food Bank since
its inception October 1, 2017. For example, in 2025, what started as a Thanksgiving food drive
to assist with donations during the holiday, raised over $10,000 and saw over 1,500 pounds of
food donated one trunk load at a time over just a two-week period. Keep your eyes out for
information regarding the upcoming 2026 Thanksgiving Food Drive in the community.
Besides repackaging, what else does Midwest Food Bank do?
Using volunteers in the 27,000 square foot Gilbert warehouse at 725 East Baseline Road,
Midwest Food Bank distributes over 89,000 pounds of food, four days a week. That is over
$70,000,000 of food totaling over 18,500,000 pounds, free of charge. Warehouse volunteers
and fork truck drivers help pick and load the food that over 280 non-profits from around the state
use to feed the hungry. Over 215 agencies pick up at the food bank every two weeks and 65
agencies come to the food bank once a month. Midwest Food Bank also delivers one semi-truck
full of food and supplies to the Navajo Nation every 6-8 weeks and provides disaster relief
supplies and food to Arizona and the surrounding states.
In what other ways can someone help Midwest Food Bank?
Volunteers are utilized to break down walk-in donations and package them into food kits that are
distributed around Maricopa County, and Midwest Food Bank also utilizes grant writers to apply
for and cultivate donations on a local, regional, and national level.
Are you or your family looking for opportunities to volunteer at Midwest Food Bank?
https://midwestfoodbank.org/locations/arizona/ click the volunteer button and fill out the form at
the bottom of the webpage.
How can I donate?
Click the Donate button at https://midwestfoodbank.org/locations/arizona/
Or mail your donation to
Midwest Food Bank Arizona
725 East Baseline Road
Gilbert, Arizona 85233
Then claim on your Arizona Form 321 the donation to the Qualifying Charitable Organization
20927 when filing your taxes.