How many Kansans will a semi of mac & cheese feed? Breaking down gift to food bank

Yahoo

31-05-2025

How many people will 38,000 pounds of mac and cheese feed? Hungry Kansans are about to find out.
The Kansas Food Bank in Wichita, which supplies 18 million pounds of food a year to agencies that help with hunger in 85 counties statewide, got a donation Thursday from Land O'Lakes for roughly 38,000 pounds of macaroni and cheese.
It will start sending the food out Monday and Tuesday to food pantries and other organizations that support hunger.
Kansas Food Bank President and CEO Brian Walker said the timing is perfect: School is out and more children are missing meals. There are food programs through schools, but not everyone will be able to make it to the school to get the food.
'It's really great because macaroni and cheese has made a comeback,' Walker said. 'If we go out to eat, I don't think there's a restaurant that doesn't have macaroni and cheese.'
Land O'Lakes has made large donations in the past, he said, but an entire semi-trailer full of one item is always a significant donation. The pre-cooked mac and cheese can be boiled in the bag or popped in the microwave.
Here is a breakdown of how much mac and cheese that is:
24 pallets full
About 52 cases on each pallet (total of 1,260 cases)
Each case has six 5-pound bags of macaroni and cheese
Total weight: 37,800 pounds of macaroni and cheese
That would be 81,067 servings of one cup (about 7.5 ounces each)
The macaroni and cheese was provided through Land O'Lakes First Run. In a December 2024 post, the company said it donated 297,675 pounds of Land O'Lakes macaroni and cheese the past year and 7.3 million pounds of food since starting the program 14 years before.
'As a farmer-owned cooperative, Land O'Lakes, Inc is deeply committed to hunger relief. This effort begins locally in the communities that our members and employees call home, many of them rural.' Land O'Lakes Senior Vice President and General Counsel Sheilah Stewart said in the 2024 statement. 'We are honored to help our Feeding America food bank partners get fresh, nutritious food directly to the families who need it most.'
About 14% of Kansans fall under the threshold as being food insecure, according to Feeding America. The Kansas Food Bank said it is 20% for children.