NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — Nayak Farms, a small family farm in Gardner, delivered 14 tons of their sweet corn to the Midwest Food Bank in Normal on Thursday.
According to a press release from the Grundy County farm, Nayak Farms has a mission to feed Midwesterners by donating a portion of their yield each year to food banks and pantries throughout Illinois.
“We at Nayak Farms are deeply committed to tackling food-insecurity in Illinois and the Midwest,” said Dave Nayak, owner of Nayak Farms. “The Midwest Food Bank has special meaning as I was raised in Bloomington-Normal. As a proud Central-Illinoisian, Midwest serves many food-insecure who do not know where their next meal may come from.”
Nayak also said that he hopes his farm’s mission will encourage other farms in Illinois to donate part of their yield as well to food banks.
Nayak Farms provided enough sweet corn to area food banks to feed more than 100,000 people in 2022.
In 2023, they are on pace to feed 250,00 people with their sweet corn and green beans that they have been growing. They were recognized at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health for their pledge to end food insecurity in Illinois and the Midwest.
Nayak Farms is the largest private donor of sweet corn in Illinois.
