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Friday 15 July 2022

Continued from Front which included Farmers to
Jesus Pascual was also in Families, was "a boon" for
the queue. the Alameda County Com-
"It's a real struggle," said munity Food Bank, provid-
Pascual, a janitor who es- ing 5 billion pounds of com-
timated he spends several modities over a single year,
hundred dollars a month said spokesman Altfest.
on groceries for him, his "So losing that was a big
wife and their five children hit," he said.
aged 11 to 19. Altfest said as many as 10%
The same scene is repeat- of the people now seeking
ed across the nation, where food are first timers, and a
food bank workers predict growing number are show-
a rough summer keeping ing up on foot rather than
ahead of demand. in cars to save gas.
The surge in food prices "The food they get from us is
comes after state govern- helping them save already-
ments ended COVID-19 stretched budgets for other
disaster declarations that expenses like gas, rent, dia-
temporarily allowed in- pers and baby formula," he
creased benefits under said.
SNAP, the federal food Meanwhile, food pur-
stamp program covering Volunteers fill up grocery carts with food boxes for distribution into drive through vehicles at the St. chases by the bank have
some 40 million Americans . Mary's Food Bank Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Phoenix. jumped from a monthly av-
"It does not look like it's go- Associated Press erage of $250,000 before
ing to get better overnight," the pandemic to as high as
said Katie Fitzgerald, presi- More than 900 families line "Last year, we had expect- al billions of dollars in pork, $1.5 million now because of
dent and chief operating up at the distribution cen- ed a decrease in demand apples, dairy, potatoes food prices. Rocketing gas-
officer for the national food ter every weekday for an for 2022 because the econ- and other products in a oline costs forced the bank
bank network Feeding emergency government omy had been doing so program that gave most of to increase its fuel budget
America. "Demand is really food box stuffed with goods well," said Michael Flood, it to food banks. The "Food by 66%, Altfest said.
making the supply chal- such as canned beans, CEO for the Los Angeles Purchase & Distribution Pro- Supply chain issues are
lenges complex." peanut butter and rice, Regional Food Bank. "This is- gram" designed to help also a problem, requiring
Charitable food distribution said Brown. St. Mary's adds sue with inflation came on American farmers harmed the food bank to become
has remained far above products purchased with pretty suddenly." by tariffs and other prac- more aggressive with pro-
amounts given away be- cash donations, as well as "A lot of these are people tices of U.S. trade partners curement.
fore the coronavirus pan- food provided by local su- who are working and did has since ended. There was "We used to reorder when
demic, even though de- permarkets like bread, car- OK during the pandemic $1.2 billion authorized for our inventory dropped to
mand tapered off some- rots and pork chops for a and maybe even saw their the 2019 fiscal year and an- three weeks' worth, now
what late last year. combined package worth wages go up," said Flood. other $1.4 billion authorized we reorder up to six weeks
Feeding America officials about $75. "But they have also seen for fiscal 2020. out," said Altfest.
say second quarter data Distribution by the Alam- food prices go up beyond Another temporary USDA He said the food bank has
won't be ready until Au- eda County Community their budgets." "Farmers to Families" pro- already ordered and paid
gust, but they are hear- Food Bank in Northern Cali- The Los Angeles bank gram that provided emer- for whole chickens, stuff-
ing anecdotally from food fornia has ticked up since gave away about 30 mil- gency relief provided more ing, cranberries and other
banks nationwide that de- hitting a pandemic low at lion pounds of food during than 155 million food boxes holiday feast items it will dis-
mand is soaring. the beginning of this year, the first three months of this for families in need across tribute for Thanksgiving, the
The Phoenix food bank's increasing from 890 house- year, slightly less than the the U.S. during the height of busiest time of the year.
main distribution center holds served on the third previous quarter but still far the pandemic before end- At the Mexican American
doled out food packages Friday in January to 1,410 more than the 22 million ing May 31, 2021. Opportunity Foundation in
to 4,271 families during the households on the third Fri- pounds given away during A USDA spokesperson not- Montebello east of Los An-
third week in June, a 78% day in June, said marketing the first quarter of 2020. ed the agency is using $400 geles, workers say they are
increase over the 2,396 director Michael Altfest. Feeding America's Fitzger- million from the Build Back seeing many families along
families served during the At the Houston Food Bank, ald is calling on USDA and Better initiative to establish with older people like Di-
same week last year, said the largest food bank in Congress to find a way to agreements with states, ane Martinez, who lined
St. Mary's spokesman Jerry the U.S. where food distri- restore hundreds of millions territories and tribal gov- up one recent morning on
Brown. bution levels earlier in the of dollars worth of com- ernments t o buy food from foot.
ARUBA at a staggering 1 million the end of several tempo- served producers that can mostly Spanish-speaking
Some of the hundreds of
pandemic briefly peaked modities recently lost with local, regional and under-
pounds a day, an average rary programs to provide be given to food banks, recipients had cars parked
CLEAN of 610,000 pounds is now food to people in need. schools and other feeding nearby. They carried cloth
USDA commodities, which programs.
being given out daily.
bags, cardboard boxes or
That's up from about generally can represent as For now, there's enough shoved pushcarts to pick
500,000 pounds a day be- much as 30% of the food food, but there might not up their food packages
fore the pandemic, said the banks disperse, ac- be in the future, said Mi- from the distribution site the
spokeswoman Paula Mur- counted for more than 40% chael G. Manning, presi- Los Angeles bank serves.
phy said. of all food distributed in fis- dent and CEO at Greater "The prices of food are so
Murphy said cash dona- cal year 2021 by the Feed- Baton Rouge Food Bank in high and they're going
tions have not eased, but ing America network. Louisiana. up higher every day," said
inflation ensures they don't "There is a critical need for He said high fuel costs also Martinez, who expressed
go as far. the public sector to pur- make it far more expensive gratitude for the bags of
Food bank executives said chase more food now," to collect and distribute black beans, ground beef
IS MORE the sudden surge in de- said Fitzgerald. food. and other groceries. "I'm
DUSHI mand caught them off During the Trump adminis- The USDA's Coronavirus so glad that they're able to
guard.
tration, USDA bought sever-
Food Assistance Program, help us."q