John van Hengel

John van Hengel
Born(1923-02-21)February 21, 1923
Waupun, Wisconsin
DiedOctober 5, 2005(2005-10-05) (aged 82)
Phoenix, Arizona
Alma materLawrence College
Known forFather of Food Banking
Children2
AwardsSee honors and awards

John Arnold van Hengel (February 21, 1923 – October 5, 2005) was a grassroots activist and entrepreneur credited as being the "Father of Food Banking". In 1967, van Hengel founded St. Mary's Food Bank, the world's first food bank in Phoenix, Arizona. He would later go on to create Feeding America, helping to spread the food banking concept across the United States, and eventually the rest of the world.