Food bank sees need rise 30 percent this year

The continuing recession and approaching winter are causing concern for food banks across the country and at home.

Ruth Jones, spokeswoman for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network, said Tuesday that demand for food is up 30 percent since this time last year.

“We’ve been around for 28 years, and we’ve never seen hunger like this,” Jones said. “It’s been an unprecedented year.”

Jones said donors have continued to be generous to the food bank, which serves Lynchburg and much of Central and Northern Virginia, but demand is simply outpacing supply.

“The amount of people asking for our help is steadily rising, so we’re just trying to keep up,” Jones said.

Demand hasn’t only been growing in the holiday seasons, Jones said.

In 2007, she said, the food bank distributed about 8.7 million pounds of food.

“This year,” she said, “we’re expecting that we’re going to distribute 18 million pounds.”

“It’s never been this high,” she said.

The normal spike in demand that comes with the colder months, she said, is compounded by economic concerns, and some people are forced to forgo some necessities.

“A lot of people are dealing with paying the higher heating bills, their utilities also go up,” Jones said, “and that can put a strain on a lot of people’s budgets.”

“That’s a time when people come to us for help because they’re having to make a very difficult choice between paying for their utilities and paying for food.”

Jones said particularly with the holidays approaching, food becomes not only a necessity but also something comforting.

“Leading to Thanksgiving, our main goal is to make sure that people have that special holiday meal on their table also.”

She said students from E.C. Glass and Heritage high schools will help to distribute turkeys throughout the community. Both schools helped in a drive to gather turkeys for the food bank.

Jones said right now, the food bank is serving between 83,000 and 90,000 people in a month.

This winter, she expects the number to balloon to at least 100,000 people.

“It’s kind of one of those things where our goal for the holiday season is just to keep up,” she said.

Jones noted the Panera’s Pantry drive held by Panera Bread as one valuable source of donations.

She also said that the food bank brings in much of its revenue from wintertime fundraising.

Many times the food donated in the winter can help tide the food bank over into the spring and summer, if there’s enough of a surplus, Jones said.

“The only way we’re going to be able to do that is with the support of the community,” she said.

Want to Help?

- Visit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network’s Web site at www.brafb.org to find ways to help.

- Drop donations of food off at the Lynchburg branch office at 501 12th St., Suite B, from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

- To volunteer in the Lynchburg area, e-mail branch Manager Kristi West at kwest@brafb.org.

- To host a food drive, call the Lynchburg Area branch at 845-4099.

- To donate monetarily, send a check or money order to:

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network
PO Box 937
Verona, VA 24482