Danielle Dohm, left, Claire Little and Chloe Washington, students at the University of Missouri, sort donated potatoes at the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri in Columbia last week (Steph Quinn/Missouri Independent).
Missouri residents can receive state income tax credits on donations to food pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Two bills seeking to make adjustments to those credits were discussed Monday afternoon by a Missouri House committee.
One bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. John Voss of Cape Girardeau, would eliminate the Dec. 31 expiration date on the tax credits.
Another, introduced by Democratic state Rep. Pattie Mansur of Kansas City, would increase the amount allocated to these tax credits and offer tax credits on food bank donations, something previously left out of bill language on this topic. It would create two areas of funds for tax credits, one that offers tax credits for donations to food pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and another that does the same for donations to food banks.
If not all the funds in one area are used, it can be transferred to the other area.
Kim Buckman, director of advocacy and communication for Feeding Missouri, said this clarification is important because food banks collect and hold food to be distributed to many organizations, whether that be a food pantry or a homeless shelter.
“Supporting food banks supports all of those entities,” Buckman said. “It supports the pantries that are community based, the pantries that are faith based that are in our network and we also provide and distribute to school pantries, backpack programs, senior centers, shelters.”
Additionally, the amount of funds dedicated to these tax credits would increase under HB 2457.
For local food pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens, $2.75 million would be made available for tax credits on donations. According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, that represents a $1 million increase annually. For food banks, $1.25 million would be allocated to tax credits on donations.
“We’re very supportive of any legislation that’s going to help bring in more funding or more resources, in general, for food banks,” said Katie Adkins, chief communications officer for The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri.
Adkins said that “need is high” and so is spending to meet those needs.
“Anytime we can incentivize folks to make donations of funds to us,” she said, “that’s going to help us continue to meet the high need that we’re seeing.”
This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online.