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Amarillo food bank faces surge in demand
Dezendorf: What it is, is a sheet-mulch, lasagna-style bed, so we start with amending the soil- adding phosphorous and nitrogen to it. So we've got four inches of mulch, then we've got two inches of grass clippings and then we layer that with wet newspaper and then we add some more mulch on top.
Haslett: On Thanksgiving Day, the thoughts of communities often turn to their local food bank- and that's a very good thing this year, as High Plains Food Bank- which serves towns throughout the Texas Panhandle- is dealing with the twin challenges of increased demand and decreased donations. Zack Wilson of the Food Bank says that the numbers are way up.
Wilson: We have really seen an increase in demand this year- upwards of 37 percent since the beginning of 2009. And we've seen our average families that we help across the Panhandle- we've seen that go as high as 11,000 families a month on average. Right now we're down to around 8,000 families, but that's still tremendously high.
Haslett: Wilson says that comparing this year to 2008, the number of people needing help putting food on their table has increased by about three times.
Wilson: Mostly what we are seeing is an increase in first-time assistance requests- people who have never sought help from an agency- whether it be monetary or food or utility assistance- we have seen that roughly triple this year.
Haslett: High Plains Food Bank has three sources for donated food- the first is local, including individual or group food donations as well as food salvaged from local grocery stores, which donate unsellable product to the bank. Another source is national, through the food bank's membership in a national network of food banks that receive large donations from national donors. Both local and national donations are down. The third source for donations is federal.
Wilson: Number three, we also receive commodities or food items through the USDA. Specifically through TEFAP, which is an acronym for the The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is a great program because the government has pretty much said the surplus of food items dumped into this program will go to specifically to food banks and food rescue organizations that can benefit most and we count on that program to kind of diversify our supply- get in a lot more protein items as well- pinto beans, rice, things like that.
Haslett: Wilson says that food from that program has increased since last year due to some changes in federal policy, but the additional food has not been enough to make up for the decrease in donations from the private sector.
Wilson: The passage of the Farm Bill last year increased funding there. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package that passed Congress this year, also had some additional funding in there for the TEFAP program. But based on the demand that food banks have across the country, including ours, it hasn't been enough to meet the demand even though it was very welcome, a welcome addition. So, it's kind of all hands on deck- we're trying to access food anywhere we can get it.
Haslett: If you're in the Amarillo area, you can donate food or learn about helping out with the community garden- they're seeking volunteers. Information is online at hpfb.org. This is Mark Haslett, High Plains Public Radio News.
© Copyright 2012, hppr
(2009-11-26)
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AMARILLO, TEXAS
(hppr) -
Haslett: With December just around the corner, many high plains gardeners have put their gloves and sun hats away for a long winter's nap. But for the more serious gardeners, the change of season just means a shifting of gears. That's the story at Amarillo's High Plains Food Bank, where a community garden that started just last summer is being prepared for its first-ever cold season. Morgan Dezendorf, who helps organize volunteers at the center, describes the beds where next year's vegetables will grow.
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Dezendorf: What it is, is a sheet-mulch, lasagna-style bed, so we start with amending the soil- adding phosphorous and nitrogen to it. So we've got four inches of mulch, then we've got two inches of grass clippings and then we layer that with wet newspaper and then we add some more mulch on top.
Haslett: On Thanksgiving Day, the thoughts of communities often turn to their local food bank- and that's a very good thing this year, as High Plains Food Bank- which serves towns throughout the Texas Panhandle- is dealing with the twin challenges of increased demand and decreased donations. Zack Wilson of the Food Bank says that the numbers are way up.
Wilson: We have really seen an increase in demand this year- upwards of 37 percent since the beginning of 2009. And we've seen our average families that we help across the Panhandle- we've seen that go as high as 11,000 families a month on average. Right now we're down to around 8,000 families, but that's still tremendously high.
Haslett: Wilson says that comparing this year to 2008, the number of people needing help putting food on their table has increased by about three times.
Wilson: Mostly what we are seeing is an increase in first-time assistance requests- people who have never sought help from an agency- whether it be monetary or food or utility assistance- we have seen that roughly triple this year.
Haslett: High Plains Food Bank has three sources for donated food- the first is local, including individual or group food donations as well as food salvaged from local grocery stores, which donate unsellable product to the bank. Another source is national, through the food bank's membership in a national network of food banks that receive large donations from national donors. Both local and national donations are down. The third source for donations is federal.
Wilson: Number three, we also receive commodities or food items through the USDA. Specifically through TEFAP, which is an acronym for the The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is a great program because the government has pretty much said the surplus of food items dumped into this program will go to specifically to food banks and food rescue organizations that can benefit most and we count on that program to kind of diversify our supply- get in a lot more protein items as well- pinto beans, rice, things like that.
Haslett: Wilson says that food from that program has increased since last year due to some changes in federal policy, but the additional food has not been enough to make up for the decrease in donations from the private sector.
Wilson: The passage of the Farm Bill last year increased funding there. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package that passed Congress this year, also had some additional funding in there for the TEFAP program. But based on the demand that food banks have across the country, including ours, it hasn't been enough to meet the demand even though it was very welcome, a welcome addition. So, it's kind of all hands on deck- we're trying to access food anywhere we can get it.
Haslett: If you're in the Amarillo area, you can donate food or learn about helping out with the community garden- they're seeking volunteers. Information is online at hpfb.org. This is Mark Haslett, High Plains Public Radio News.
© Copyright 2012, hppr
