MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Some of these shelves at the Montgomery Area Food Bank are empty due to supply chain issues.
“We knew it was coming, that if you can’t get Christmas gifts, you may not be able to get food,” said CEO Richard Deem.
This facility feeds the hungry in 35 of Alabama’s 67 counties. A bulk of that food comes from grocery stores getting rid of additional product.
“We are still distributing millions of pounds, but we’re being impacted by this food shortage,” Deem said.
For example, when trucks bring in pallets from distribution centers, the food bank typically gets around 20. That’s around 20,000 pounds of food – food that isn’t showing up.
“This week, we sent a truck down. We got six pallets,” he said.
That is about a quarter of what the facility typically takes in, which is why the food bank is calling on the community.
With a dollar the center can purchase six and a half pounds of food.
“That’s equivalent to 5.2 meals,” Deem said. “A dollar goes a lot further with a food bank then it does an individual.”
Those looking to donate can do so online at montgomeryareafoodbank.org.
Additionally, the CEO believes the United States Department of Agriculture should be doing more to help.
“Over the last couple years, the USDA has just put out so much food that we couldn’t hardly keep up with it,” he said. “Most of those programs now have gone by the wayside.”
For now, the food bank is pressing on in its mission to keep people fed, despite less inventory
Copyright 2022 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.
