Bare Shelves in US Foodbanks - Impact of Katrina
According to USA Today …
As Hurricane Katrina donations reach near-record levels, some food banks in the USA are seeing bare shelves as they prepare for Thanksgiving and winter.
Food donations are down 12% in Los Angeles, 30% in New York City and more than 50% in Milwaukee and Denver, according to America’s Second Harvest network, which accounts for 80% of the nation’s food banks for the needy.
“People just aren’t able to do it,” says Shannon Cardellina, spokeswoman for the Food Bank of the Rockies. “Our community is feeling tapped out.” She says the food bank received 50,000 pounds of donated food in October 2004 but only 17,000 pounds last month.
“It’s pretty much a direct result of Katrina,” says Lisa Jakobsberg, spokeswoman for the Food Bank for New York City, which diverted some of its food and staff to the Gulf to help hurricane victims.
“We have a lot of empty shelves now. I’ve not seen that before,” says Jakobsberg, who has worked at the food bank for five years.
“People saw a need (with Katrina) and responded,” says Karen Ford, executive director of the Food Bank of Iowa. “It’s difficult to respond in the same manner when the need is not as visible.”
Three out of four agencies that help the poor say it will be harder to do so this holiday season because the need is greater, according to a survey of 70 agencies to be released today by Catholic Charities.
The Department of Agriculture says 11.9% of households lack year-round access to sufficient food.
Tags: Hunger