People begin lining up early at Food Now, an independent food bank in Desert Hot Springs, CA. Senior citizens go to the head of the line and are admitted first when the converted one-story house opens at nine a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
"You've got two baskets," a young female volunteer brusquely informed one old lady. "You'll have to leave one, because you're only allowed one." Single clients are allowed to fill a single hand basket, as the bank's resources are limited.
I asked Board Member Dale Derr if Food Now is servicing more clients now than it did at this time a year ago. "About 25 percent more" he said without hesitating.
"At least that much," store Manager Cheryl Calzaretta added, but neither she nor Derr can determine what percentage of Food Now's clients are working people.
"We have them fill out a form when they apply," Derr said, "that gives us an income figure, but that income might be from welfare or S.S.I.; there's really no way of telling whether they're working or not."
However, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank newsletter for spring, 2006 reports survey results indicating that nearly a third of its client households, 31 percent, have at least one working adult.
Food banks all over Southern California are experiencing supply crunches just as demand for their services is increasing. Fortunately, donations are up following sharp decreases during the latter part of 2005, due to the amount of relief flowing to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, according to Michael Flood, president of the L.A. Food Bank. However, increased donations have been offset by funding cuts in the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which serves seniors, pregnant women, and infants and children up to six years old. The Bush administration has threatened to "zero out" this progam in 2007.
What accounts for this year's escalating demand for food relief?
See below.
No comments:
Post a Comment