Bay Area Food Bank Busy

Economy Theodore The recession is increasing demands for local food pantries and donations.

by Chad Petri

Published: Thu, July 02, 2009 - 3:45 pm CST Last Updated: Thu, July 02, 2009 - 3:50 pm CST

As volunteers tear into food packages, more people are rolling in here to fill local food pantries.

“Especially with the economy the way it is we've got a lot of people in need of food and help,” says John McCormick. He’s filling is truck with food for programs through Woodridge Baptist Church. The Bay Area Food Bank gave out 1.3 million pounds of food in June. Organizers say it’s the most ever for a non-storm related month.

“Bills are there to be paid and food is critical and we can help them,” says executive director Dave Reaney. He says more local food chains like Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie will donate unsold items later this summer that means more than 50,000 additional pounds of food weekly. While the shot in the arm from local food chains will help, it'll still be a challenge to meet all the needs in the community.

“We under-serve this area compared to other food banks across the nation and it's partly because of the spread of people across the Gulf Coast,” says Reaney. The Food Bank's summer food service program--that gives free lunches to kids in churches and recreation centers--has grown by about half in the last year.

“This year we hired more additional drivers we hired additional people to monitor the sites, going out and verifying that the sites are meeting all the regulations that we have to follow,” says Nutrition Programs Manager Darcy Kelley. Food Bank officials say there's always more demand than they can meet. If you’d like help you can call 251-653-1617. You can also to their website.

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