Savannah, Ga. (WSAV) – Food banks in the United States are reporting severe shortages of non-perishable products. America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia says their supply is “critically low.”
Food banks had to suspend their mobile food pantry programs in their rural communities because they did not have a good supply of tinned enough to plan a drive. For the first time in two years, more than 10,000 cities across the country will collect canned goods in the country's largest one-day food campaign.
The 30th Annual Postal Carrier Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive will collect items such as canned meat, tuna, soups, vegetables and juices, dried pasta, cereals, peanut butter and rice. Grants help eroded food banks, such as the Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia in the United States.
‘At the moment we are really short on canned products, so we hope the community will recognize that this is an opportunity for them to help us without leaving their homes. We can provide frozen items, but we can't give them the items they can put on the shelves to make sure their families have food on an ongoing basis, “explained Mary Jane Crouch, executive director of Food Bank.
Crouch says the food will go a long way in ensuring that they can help with their summer program, emergency delivery and a growing number of families who need food assistance.
“Usually we pack about a thousand boxes of emergency food, which, you know, no electricity boxes, food that we then store internally offsite so that if we have an emergency, we're able to pull them out immediately. We start bringing community resources.” “But food banks across the country are all fighting with canned goods. So I don't have anyone who can give me the kind of items that we can pack those emergency boxes like in the past,” Crouch added.
Warehouse stocks stocked during the epidemic are now empty, and Food Bank staff say they can't afford to pack in pallets without community support because of inflation.
“I would be able to buy a tractor for about 30 30,000 trying to load mixed vegetables or a variety of vegetables. That same truck is now about $ 50,000 for me to go out and buy it. Part of it is transportation and its cost. You know, we talk a lot about our summer programs at our kids cafe programs, ”Crouch said.
“You know, the price of the milk we give has almost doubled in the last few years. You know about the price of the food we keep, it has gone up by 30 to 40% in some cases. So we’re looking at extremely high costs, just like the average family is watching. And right now people are really struggling to put food on the table and we have to make sure we're here. “
You can help pack a bag with indigestible canned products and leave them in your mailbox to pick them up for your postal carrier on Saturday, May 14th. Make sure your items are out of date and not in a glass container Click here to volunteer for a food bank or find other ways you can help.
