Supporting rural food banks to respond to unprecedented need

In the fall of 2025, food banks across the country faced an extraordinary spike in demand for food assistance from community members, stemming from a confluence of challenging events. Despite being the heart of agriculture, rural communities experience higher rates of food insecurity than urban areas. Of the 10 U.S. counties with the highest levels of food insecurity, nine are rural.

To help address the rising need, CoBank partnered with CHS Foundation to contribute a combined $2 million to Feeding America, a national network of food banks and food pantries committed to hunger relief. The joint donation supported rural food banks to ensure the impact reached the rural communities where CoBank customers and their families live and work.

“Food insecurity is a growing challenge in rural America, where families are struggling to put meals on the table,” said Tom Halverson, CEO of CoBank. “Our mission is rooted in strengthening rural communities, and this partnership with the CHS Foundation and Feeding America is about delivering nourishment where it’s needed most.”

The initiative leverages our shared values of cooperation among cooperatives to serve our communities. “CHS and the CHS Foundation believe in the power of the cooperative system to support rural communities,” said Jay Debertin, CHS president and CEO. “Through this combined effort with CoBank and Feeding America, we’re helping families in rural America have access to the food they need.” Feeding America is a leading organization working to support food assistance access through its network of 250 food banks that last year helped to provide 5.9 billion meals to tens of millions of people across the U.S. “Ending hunger for good in rural communities—where food insecurity rates are disproportionately high, especially among children—requires dedicated partnerships and collective action. We are so grateful for this collaborative, generous and focused donation from the CHS Foundation and CoBank,” said Linda Nageotte, president and chief operating officer at Feeding America.