Friday, January 09, 2009
Feeding a need
Food banks across the country are coping with increasing demand as the economy worsens.
JARED SOARES The Roanoke Times
Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank volunteer Kevin Day (foreground) helps Harley Cox and Lorenia Hall, members of the Eastern Appalachian Teen Challenge of Fincastle, load donations into their van Wednesday morning. Partner agencies pick up donations from the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank every morning in Salem.
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Lake Christian Ministries, a food pantry that serves families in Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties, has been feeling the effects of increasing unemployment.
The pantry provides groceries for about 350 families around Smith Mountain Lake, and the number of clients increases daily, said Jim Cameron, the organization's coordinator. The ministry used to adopt 10 to 12 new families a month. That has more than doubled recently, to about 30 a month.
"None of us are immune from needing some help," Cameron said.
The pantry relies on the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank for 30 percent to 40 percent of its food.
The food bank -- like its counterparts across the country -- is working hard to keep up with the increasing demand caused by the flagging economy, even as it enters the post-holiday season, which typically brings a slowdown in food donations.
The food bank just completed a holiday-geared food collection program, Holidays from the Heart, which ran from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31.
Food bank spokesman Jeremy Butterfield said the program has been going on for 10 years and reported a significant increase in donations this past year: from 48,972 pounds of food in 2007 to 113,016 pounds in 2008.
Despite the 130 percent increase in donations, the food bank still struggles to provide for about 350 partner agencies in 26 counties.
"Our partner agencies have reported a 9 [percent] to 30 percent increase in the amount of clients seeking food assistance at their pantries," Butterfield said. "Which means that we at the food bank are always trying to keep up with that demand by bringing in, and sending out more food."
Leslie Van Horn agrees.
"Between the challenging economy and more layoffs, we are truly seeing more new faces at the food banks and their partner agencies," said Van Horn, executive director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks.
Virginia food banks last month requested a million dollars from the governor for an emergency food purchase program. The request made it into the governor's budget, but Van Horn still fears it may not be enough.
Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger relief organization, reported from a recent survey that 99.4 percent of its food banks saw more first-time users in 2008 than in 2007 and that "72 percent of food banks do not feel as though they are able to adequately meet the needs of their communities without adjusting the amount of food distributed."
Less food is typically donated in January and February, Van Horn said. Despite this expected slowdown, Butterfield stays positive.
"As we move into late winter and early spring there will be plenty of great opportunities to get involved with the fight against hunger in our area," he said.
