“A lot of people are surprised to know that there is a food insecurity problem in Bloomington, as there is across the nation,” CEO and executive director of Hoosier Hills Food Bank Julio Alonso said.

Food insecurity is the lack of regular access to nutritious food. It affects one out of five people, including approximately 20,000 children in the Hoosier Hills’ service area. Earlier this month, the food bank hosted its 36th annual book fair to raise money and food donations for the community.

“We use book fair fundraising money to support our general operations, which consists of providing food to over 100 partner agencies in six counties,” Alonso explained. The non-profit partners include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, senior centers, and low income day cares.

Jake Bruner, the director of development for the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, has worked at Hoosier Hills for ten years. He manages the volunteers and tries to make the book fair a good experience for everyone.

“This is a little atypical for what I do everyday, so it’s kind of cool to get to manage this event,” Bruner said. “I’ve found something that I get paid to do, but at the end of the day, it makes a difference in other people’s lives.”

Community members of many ages and backgrounds participated in the book fair. Some families hoped to find mysteries, like Sara Dewar, a mother who brought her 15-year-old daughter and husband to look for books. “We’ve been coming for 5 years. We hear about it in the paper and show up,” Dewar said. “We just all like to read in the house.”

Other community members volunteered their time to make the event possible.

“I’ve been going around pulling authors, putting them in certain areas… because some people like to hunt and some people don’t,” first-time volunteer Peggy Daniels shared. “So, if I can hunt for them, it’s fun for me.”

Hoosier Hills Food Bank is heavily dependent on volunteers. They use nearly 2000 volunteers over the course of a year.

IU sophomore Jessica Sprong was one of several student volunteers. Her sorority works with Hoosier Hills Food Bank, as well as the Alpha Gamma Delta foundation to fight hunger across the country. Sprong shared, “We volunteer not only at Hoosier Hills, but we also hold our philanthropy events to raise money for Hoosier Hills and fighting hunger.”

Sprong continued her shift in the “Special Books Section,” which includes handling more expensive books, like first editions and autographed copies. Most books cost $3, although they sell other items like games, novelty items and posters.

“We really rely on the community to step up and help us with our mission,” Alonso added.

Daniels encourages “anyone that is able to come out and work… that has the extra time– that would like to help our community– to do it.”

The food bank invites any person interested in donating or volunteering to visit hhfoodbank.org, email volunteer@hhfoodbank.org, or call 812-334-8374.