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Local Food Banks See Increase in Demand |
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Monday, 17 August 2009 |
By DANIELLE COLLINS
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Food is a basic necessity of life. For many people however, the basic necessity of food is difficult to come by.
With the increased demand for food caused by economic conditions, the nations food banks, including the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, are struggling to supply food to people in need.
A recent windfall of $100 million was given to the nation's food banks as part of the federal stimulus law. Even with the windfall however, the demand for food cannot be met.
“Many families in Oklahoma are seeking food assistance for the first time,” said Regional Food Bank Executive Director Rodney Bivens. “Our agencies are reporting an increase in demand as high as 50 percent, which is more than they can handle.”
The Guymon food bank, Loaves and Fishes, is no exception to the increase in demand. According to Lynette Taylor, volunteer at Loaves and Fishes, the amount of people being served at the food bank has doubled in the last year.
Due to the windfall, food began arriving at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma in May and will continue to come until the end of October. Between the two food banks, they will distribute approximately one million pounds of stimulus-provided food to help feed the hungry statewide.
A portion of that one million pounds is distributed twice a month to Loaves and Fishes by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Thanks to a $100 million stimulus, the Regional Food Bank was able to provide an extra 3,012 pounds of food to the residents of Guymon.
The truck that brings the food supplies enough to fill the shelves, but it does not take long before they become bare.
"The shelves get bare by the time the next truck arrives," Taylor said. "That is the way it is supposed to be though."
Loaves and Fishes is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 August 2009 )
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