Food Bank: Demand outweighing supply
The economic downturn is hitting food banks hard. Supplies are dwindling and until the economy turns around, demand for free groceries is expected to continue to increase.
Posted — UpdatedEvery Tuesday at Mount Peace Baptist Church, Bonnie Richardson fills boxes with food. She calls it a mission. Margaret Hinton, who gets a food box, calls it a lifeline.
“It just helps stretch the budget with the money I have,” Hinton said. “We don't have any other help, any other source at this time.”
“In this current economic climate, we are all seeing unprecedented numbers this year,” Food Bank President Peter Werbicki said.
Nearly 30 percent of the people helped by the Food Bank’s network are children, and another 18 percent are elderly. Distribution is up 30 percent, Werbicki said, with 3.5 million pounds of food served during October.
In an average month, the Food Bank provides around 2.7 million pounds of food to nearly 900 nonprofit, community-based, emergency food programs.
The Food Bank is urging people to give as much as they can, especially as the holiday season approaches.
Royster says the Food Bank helps feed her eight grandchildren.
“When I come, the children are all happy. They meet me at the car to get the bags,” Royster said.
A lot of the people who need help this year are new people, Werbicki said, those who have recently lost their jobs or have been laid off and have never sought help before.
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