As communities endure continuing economic challenges, feeding hungry people with nutritious food is a daunting task. This year, more than ever, the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County is counting on Hunger Awareness Day to help as many as 44,000 residents overcome the increased challenge to feed their families.
Hunger Awareness Day 2013 is set for Friday, June 7th, and the Food Bank is trying to reach a campaign goal of $150,000. This will help to meet the ever growing demand for food assistance in our county. “Many think that the economic recovery, although slow, is good for those who live in poverty, but with so many social services having been reduced by the government at all levels through the recession, and even more anticipated in future budgets, people are struggling more than ever, particularly families where parents find work, often at jobs with low-pay and no benefits,” Carl Hansen, CEO said. “Household expenses go up, but previous assistance is taken away. The Food Bank is there for them, especially the children who need to be healthy in their formative years.”
Like other food banks across the country, we have added new programs and direct sites to address the increase as well as the changing face of hunger. Numbers released by Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks, last year indicated that the most vulnerable group is children. Unfortunately that statistic is mirrored locally as over 40% of the Food Bank’s clients are under the age of eighteen. In 2012, we worked hard to identify under served populations. We created mobile distributions to cover all corners of the county including Creston, CA Valley and Carissa Plains.
With our resources for free or low-cost food we can stretch a dollar into 10 pounds of food. Donors can mail checks to P.O. Box 2070, Paso Robles, CA 93447, donate online here, drive through or walk in to any Rabobank branches in the county during the month of May through June 7th, or drop by the Hunger Awareness Day site in your community on June 7th.