Food Banks Have Seen Huge Spikes In Demand During The Pandemic

[mahatmakanejeeves]

JUL 16, 2:26 PM

Food Banks Have Seen Huge Spikes In Demand During The Pandemic
Hannah Schuster

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Catholic Charities food pantry in Mount Pleasant served anywhere between 50 and 75 families per week. Now, around 650 families rely on them for groceries every week.

“We’re [distributing food] using social distance and PPE,” Scott Lewis, a director with the organization, said Wednesday on the Kojo Nnamdi Show. “We are actually even giving out PPE equipment, and masks and hand sanitizer, along with protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, diapers. We’ve partnered with a dairy to give out fresh milk.”

Catholic Charities has several more pantry locations in D.C. and Maryland. But, seeing the surge in need, Lewis says they’ve started doing additional weekly “food drops” at additional sites in the area.

Widespread unemployment caused by the pandemic has led more people to seek help from their local food banks in recent weeks. And demand could increase even more.

At the end of July, the $600 weekly unemployment supplement approved by Congress is set to expire. Lawmakers have two weeks to reach a deal extending the emergency unemployment program. But even if they do, it’s not clear how long the funding will last and whether the payments will stay at the same level.

“We know that those folks need the money, and when the cut comes to unemployment, it’s going to be dramatic, and it’s going to cause a large financial problem for our families,” Lewis said.

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[IronLionZion]

1. I've donated every month since March

food banks can also buy up tons of produce, milk, and other food directly from farmers and wholesalers real cheap. That helps farmers since supply lines have dried for overseas and restaurant/cafeteria buyers.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. I need to. Thanks for reminding me. NT