The Lincoln-based distribution center is donating 20 tractor-trailer loads of food and kitchen supplies - roughly 800,000 pounds worth - to the food bank, the largest such donation in its history, company president Dean "Robbie" Robert Jr. said Tuesday at the food bank's Springfield warehouse.

To date, about eight truckloads have already been moved to agencies in the food bank's service region including Logan and Mason counties.

Lincoln agencies that are beneficiaries of the large donation include the Lincoln/Logan Food Pantry, Neighbors to Nations, Christian Childcare Center, Little Lambs Daycare and the Lincoln Area YMCA's after-school program.

The Mason City,-based Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Service is another recipient.

Robert said the donation resulted from the merger of Lincoln-based Robert's Sysco with the food-service division of Springfield's Bunn Capitol Co.

"There were a number of products that didn't totally match up," he said. "They're all good-quality products, they just won't work under the system. That, along with what we call long-inventory items, make up the 20 truckloads."

Central Illinois Foodbank distributes 4.5 million pounds of food annually to approximately 160 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21-county region.

"The need continues to be with us every day of the year," said Pam Molitoris, executive director of the foodbank. "A lot of times people think about hunger at the holidays, and we appreciate that, but hunger is with us 365 days a year. It doesn't go away."

Robert said the food bank donation includes food, ranging from roast beef to canned goods to cereal, along with kitchen supplies such as napkins, plates and foam cups.

"I am very pleased to donate this food to Central Illinois Foodbank and intend to continue our strong partnership with them to feed the hungry in central Illinois," Robert said.

Molitoris said it would take some time for the food to work its way through the food bank system. Some items are being stored in the food bank's facilities, while others are housed in Robert's West Jefferson Street warehouse in Springfield.

"If Robbie had said, 'You have to take this donation, you have to take it today,' that would have presented a major problem for us," Molitoris said. "But his willingness to help us warehouse some of that food and bring it slowly over here to the food bank is really going to help."

Established in 1982 by a coalition of churches and nonprofit organizations concerned about hunger and poverty, the foodbank is an affiliate of America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger relief organization.

The foodbank mission is to collect donated food and grocery items from growers, manufacturers, processors, wholesalers and retailers for distribution to charitable agencies serving people in need.

The Robert's Sysco donation won't necessarily feed more people than usual, but could increase the amount of food distributed to individuals through the food bank's partner agencies. It is the largest donation in her 41/2 years with the food bank, and she suspects it is among the largest ever received by the agency, Molitoris said.

Changes in 2006 for Robert's Sysco, a major food service supplier to restaurants, included a name change and the new state-of-the-art distribution center in Lincoln.

"Helping Central Illinois Foodbank feed the hungry has been a priority that remains the same, even with all of the changes surrounding us," Robert said