Friday, May 21, 2021
“Hunger is not a problem. It is an obscenity. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” –Anne Frank
It is hard to know exactly when Anne Frank uttered these sage words. It is rather remarkable that despite her young age, her wisdom has stood the test of time. Her words ring even truer now during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the numbers of those who are hungry remain truly obscene after over an entire year.
While we celebrate that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the medical crisis of this pandemic as more vaccines become available and we gain experience and insight on how to better treat the virus – we cannot lose sight on the fact that the economic crisis will last much longer.
For the more than a quarter of a million people that we serve each month, many have never used our food bank before. Some of these families will need at least one season to begin recuperating from the pandemic’s ripple effects; many others will need several seasons (years) to get back on their feet. The economic recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint.
This week, our food bank has broken yet another record. Because of the support of so many, we distributed 1,338,929 pounds of food throughout our five-county footprint.
As we head into the summer months, many of our seasonal residents return north, leaving our volunteer workforce shorthanded. We continue to struggle securing enough changemakers who are willing to give their time at our drive-thru distributions. We remain diligent in our attempts to ensure that our staff and changemakers are safe and continue to follow all CDC guidelines. Therefore, we are no longer requiring changemakers to wear masks if they are fully vaccinated.
We are grateful to the many of you who made investments in our food distribution programs. By doing so, you are taking action against the obscene hunger issue caused by the economic crisis from the pandemic. We have more to do, but together, we are making difference.
If you are looking for food, please click here.
If you are well, able, and willing to give your time, please click here to sign up.
To support our efforts, please click here.