With the continuing stresses of a sluggish economy, high
unemployment and a glut of home foreclosures, holiday food drives
help make tough times a little brighter for local families.
With the continuing stresses of a sluggish economy, high unemployment and a glut of home foreclosures, holiday food drives help make tough times a little brighter for local families.
The Community Food Bank of San Benito County is in the midst of its annual effort to gather non-perishable food and donations to aid its effort to put food on the tables of those in need.
“We used to be strictly supplemental and we still are for some, but we find that our clients need more,” said Mary Anne Hughes, executive director of the food bank. “When people were working more hours, a bag or two or three was enough to help them get through. The amount they need from us in increasing.”
Sixteen local schools participated in this year’s effort, with eight of those schools donating more than 8,000 pounds of food so far. The other eight schools are continuing their drives.
San Juan 4-H donated 2,580 pounds and San Benito High School’s Interact Club collected 399 pounds.
“This year, the schools have reduced staff, so they’ve had a hard time getting (their annual food drive) going,” Hughes said. “They don’t have enough people and hours in the day. School-for-school, they’ve done as well or better than last year. Several schools will finish in November and some haven’t started yet. It’s all running together a bit, but that’s OK.”
Nearly 100 locations around the county – from offices to stores and more – put out the food bank’s barrels last week to seek donations of non-perishable staples such as dry goods, flour, sugar, and canned goods. Canned meats such as tuna and chicken are “really important” to the effort, Hughes noted, because they are a good protein source.
The drive, scheduled to run through Dec. 20, “is our biggest fundraiser of the year between the money and food donated,” she said. “It used to cover us until April or so, but last year, when we got 56,000 pounds of food, it was gone by the end of February or first week of March because our volume of clients went up.”
More than 3,000 families are served by Community Food Bank, with approximately 1,600 of those receiving regular assistance.
“The need is always there,” Hughes said. “It’s so hard to keep harping on it, but in this economy it’s amazing how many people are in need. It’s not just the chronically poor – it’s a lot of people who haven’t been in this situation before. It’s a wonderful time to give and we love having donations of money as well, but we also need to remember that people are hungry year-round.”
The Hollister Exchange Club fulfilled its $10,000 pledge this year and a recent effort, called Claudia’s Challenge, brought in $15,000 in donations – which will be matched by food bank volunteer and board of directors member Claudia Teehan.
That $30,000 will fill a funding gap left when the county pulled its funding over concerns about being reimbursed by state and federal sources.
Hughes said she or holiday food drive co-chairs Kay Filice and Michelle Stephenson will talk with any clubs, organizations or individuals who are interested in conducting a food drive.
For more information, call 637-0340 or visit Community Food Bank’s new website at www.communityfoodbankofsbc.org
