Feeding South Dakota is the state's primary food bank, serving approximately 12,000 families a month through more than 230 partner agencies statewide, including pantries, meal programs, schools, shelters, and tribal food programs. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, it distributes across the whole state, including the Rapid City and Black Hills region in the west, much of it through mobile distributions in a state where Native American reservations and remote rural communities face some of the highest food-insecurity rates in the country. Lori Dykstra serves as CEO. It is a Feeding America member.
Feeding South Dakota sources food at scale and distributes it statewide through more than 230 partner agencies and its own mobile distributions, run from Sioux Falls with operations reaching the Rapid City and Black Hills region in the west. The organization was formed in part from the 2004 merger of earlier food banks, including the Rapid City operation, into a single statewide entity. Tribal food programs are a particular focus, since South Dakota's reservations include some of the most food-insecure communities in the nation.
Lori Dykstra serves as CEO of Feeding South Dakota, leading the statewide organization through record demand. She has been a public voice during the recent benefit disruptions, when tens of thousands of South Dakotans stood to lose food assistance, urging state support to help fill the gap.
Feeding South Dakota serves the entire state, from the Sioux Falls metro in the east across the rural plains to the Black Hills in the west. Some of the deepest need is on the state's Native American reservations, where poverty and distance from grocery stores combine to produce extreme food insecurity, and the food bank's mobile and tribal programs are built to reach them.
Yes. Feeding South Dakota is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member, the state’s primary food bank. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through feedingsouthdakota.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
Feeding South Dakota is the statewide food bank and the result of consolidating earlier regional food banks, including the former Black Hills operation, into one organization. It works alongside the Salvation Army and other groups on the broader safety net. For anyone in South Dakota, it is the lead food bank to support.
230+ agencies statewide receive food.
Food brought into rural communities and reservations.
Distribution focused on Native American communities.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Sources: Feeding South Dakota website (feedingsouthdakota.org), the organization’s history of the 2004 regional food bank consolidation, and South Dakota Searchlight reporting on benefit disruptions. We are not affiliated with Feeding South Dakota and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More South Dakota and food-bank resources