Photo credit: David Baldacci/ Instagram

For many families, a visit to a food bank is about meeting an immediate need: putting meals on the table. Author David Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, wanted to add something that could nourish another part of family life, too. In 2008, their Wish You Well Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind, a programme that collects new and gently used books and distributes them through food banks. Baldacci’s website says the initiative has collected and delivered more than one million books to families in need. The idea is straightforward: food helps sustain people today, while books can encourage learning, imagination and literacy over time. It has also given food banks a way to offer families something beyond groceries.

Bringing books to food banks

Feeding Body & Mind grew from the Baldaccis’ wider commitment to literacy. David and Michelle established the Wish You Well Foundation to support family and adult literacy programmes in the United States. Their partnership with Feeding America connected that work to a national network of food banks already serving families experiencing hunger.The programme addresses what its organisers see as connected challenges. Food insecurity can place pressure on families, while limited access to books and literacy resources can make learning harder. Feeding Body & Mind does not treat books as a substitute for food assistance. Instead, it brings the two forms of support together, so families visiting a food bank can also find reading material to take home.The Gaithersburg Book Festival’s profile of the programme explains its guiding idea: food can help keep a person alive, while stronger literacy skills can help create opportunities and challenge poverty. The initiative’s name captures that belief, linking nourishment for the body with resources for the mind.

A book to take home

The programme collects both new and gently used books. Rather than sending them to a central library, it distributes them through local food banks and community feeding programmes. This model lets books reach families in familiar places where they are already seeking assistance.The project has also invited readers to take part directly. At some of Baldacci’s book signings, supporters have been encouraged to bring books and place them in collection boxes. When a box is full, the Wish You Well Foundation arranges for the books to be sent to a nearby food bank, so donations can benefit families in that community. That local element matters. A donated book can become a child’s first book of their own, a story shared at bedtime or a resource for an adult building reading skills. The programme does not assume every family needs the same titles, but it creates a chance for readers to choose books that interest them and take them home. A book is a modest object, yet having one available can make a difference in a household where buying extra reading material may not be possible. For children, books can support curiosity and language development. For adults, reading materials can offer practice, entertainment and a way to share stories across generations.

Photo: Wish You Well Foundation’s website

From a novelist’s idea to a national effort

Baldacci is best known for his bestselling thrillers. His official biography says he has published dozens of novels for adults and young readers, with his work translated into more than 45 languages and published in over 80 countries. But his interest in literacy extends beyond his books and publishing career.The idea behind Feeding Body & Mind grew from recognising that reading resources are not equally available to every family. Food banks already provide an essential service, but they can also become a point of connection for other kinds of support. By working with Feeding America, the Wish You Well Foundation could reach families through a network with local relationships across the country.In its early years, the effort relied on book drives and partnerships with publishers and community organisations. A 2007 profile in Washingtonian reported that Baldacci asked people attending his book events to donate new or gently used books. The initiative had collected 35,000 books in its first three months, showing how a simple request could quickly draw public participation.The programme has since grown far beyond those early collection boxes. Baldacci’s website reports that more than one million books have now been collected and distributed through food banks to families in need.

Why literacy belongs in the conversation

The programme’s premise is that hunger and literacy should not be treated as unrelated issues. A family may need food today, but access to books and reading support can also shape a child’s opportunities over time. Food banks are not schools or libraries, yet they can offer a practical route for sharing books with families who may otherwise have limited access to them.That does not mean a book alone can overcome poverty or replace formal education. Feeding Body & Mind works alongside other services and support systems. Its contribution is narrower but meaningful: it helps put books into homes through a channel families already use.For children, a book can invite a parent or caregiver to read aloud, create a shared routine and make stories part of daily life. For adults, reading materials can support confidence and encourage continued learning. These benefits are not always easy to measure in a single visit, but they reflect the longer view of literacy that underpins the programme.

A million books, one family at a time

The more than one million books distributed through Feeding Body & Mind represent a cumulative effort by donors, volunteers, publishers, food banks and the Baldacci family foundation. The number is impressive, but the initiative’s impact is ultimately experienced in individual homes, where a child discovers a story or a family finds a new reason to read together.The programme has helped food banks become more than places where families collect groceries. Through the partnership, they can also offer books that encourage reading and learning. That extra resource does not diminish the importance of food assistance. It recognises that families have needs beyond the immediate meal.David and Michelle Baldacci’s initiative began with a simple connection between nourishment and literacy. More than a million books later, that idea continues to travel through food banks and into homes across the United States.