As the holiday season hits its full stride many Americans are beginning to notice a decline in the supply of products at many food banks and pantries across the country.
America’s Second Harvest, a Chicago based organization known as one of the nation’s largest food bank networks, recently issued a plea for donations, saying that it is facing a 15 million pound food shortage this season.
In other cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Detroit food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens are facing the prospect of having to do more with less.
Some observers attribute the shortage to a recent reduction in federal subsidies that benefit food banks, as well as more demand for emergency food from families feeling the pinch of a higher cost of living.
“It’s the cost of housing first and foremost putting pressure on people’s budgets,” said Bill de Blasio, a New York City councilman and welfare expert who commented recently on the situation facing food banks. “What I hear consistently from people is difficulty making ends meet.”
Shortages have also had an impact on organizations in Indianapolis that give out food, most notably Gleaners Food Bank. Its director, Pam Haltmeyer, said the food bank, which has given out over 212 million pounds of food since its establishment in 1980, has been dealing with a decrease in products over the last two years.
“We’ve been fighting our way back from that,” Hatlmeyer said. “What’s taking place nationally is true from our aspect also.”
Food banks are non-profit clearinghouses that accept edible but unsold food from corporate donors and distributors. They warehouse the food for a brief time and then redistribute it to various charities that provide food directly to the needy.
Haltmeyer agreed with de Blasio that economic difficulties are putting a strain on both families and food banks. She estimated that more than 37,500 individuals in Indiana alone live below the poverty level.
“Indiana has the second fastest growing poverty rate in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,” she said. “Poverty here is growing, the economy is precarious and we have more people unemployed or underemployed for the first time in many years.”
A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicated that more than 30 million Americans didn’t have enough food at some point in 2006.
Some say that while support from food-manufacturing companies and donations from private individuals has remained steady, food from USDA farm subsidies has decreased.
To help farmers the federal government purchases surplus food and donates it to food banks. Since the farming sector is strong right now, the government is purchasing less.
Earlier this year a $286 billion farm bill that would increase government purchases of commodities for food banks was introduced in Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed its version of the bill, but it is currently stalled in the Senate as senators debate amendments attached to the bill.
In the meantime, Haltmeyer noted that many options are available for individuals and organizations who would like to ease the struggle faced by food banks. Individuals can easily make their own donations, write letters to lawmakers asking them to support bills that increase funding for food donors and be judicious in the amount of food they use so companies may donate excess products to food banks.
“You can always buy a couple of extra canned goods when you go to the store and give them to a food bank or pantry,” she said. “There’s no limit to what we can do to help the hungry. If we all do even just a little to help it would go a long way in making this community a better place.”
