VIRGINIA, USA — Local food banks are trying to keep up with rising demand. Their efforts in the New Year follow a busy 2022.
Record-level inflation rates last year brought more families out to local food giveaways and food bank locations.
Demand jumped during the year and it didn't let up, Virginia Peninsula Foodbank CEO Karen Joyner shared.
"We are basically right back where we were during the pandemic," Joyner said.
Moreover, she estimated the rate of food insecurity among children in the Greater Virginia Peninsula at 18%.
"There are certain populations that are being disproportionately affected and it's a great area of concern for us," said David Brandt, senior director of communications with Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
Brandt said those populations include children, seniors, African Americans and Latinos.
The most recent data, from 2020, posted to Feeding America help paint the picture. When compared to regionwide numbers, rates of food insecurity are worse in some nearby areas, like Norfolk and Accomack County.
HAMPTON ROADS
- Overall: 9.2%
- Children: 15.8%
- African Americans: 19%
- Latinos: 16%
NORFOLK
- Overall: 13.2%
- Children: 24.6%
- African Americans: 25%
ACCOMACK COUNTY
- Overall: 11.8%
- Children: 22.5%
- African Americans: 23%
- Latinos: 22%
"The food insecurity rate's concerning enough as it is, but when you look at it from the prism of ALICE, then it's a much bigger issue," said Brandt.
ALICE stands for "Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed," which essentially breaks down to be families living paycheck to paycheck.
"It's a daily effort to go ahead and meet the need, it never stops," Brandt told 13News Now.
He said the level of need their nonprofit is seeing now exceeds the peak of the pandemic. That's alongside challenges the food banks themselves face.
"When you think about inflation, it's not just people putting food on their tables themselves, it affects us because our dollars don't go as far as they used to," Brandt added.
"I have never seen it bare like it was in the months of October and November," said Joyner, when talking about their "shopping room" shelves.
In addition to various levels of support through government funding, leaders at both food banks said they will continue to rely on the generosity of their donors to keep shelves stocked in 2023.
Looking ahead, the Newport News Sheriff's Office and partners will host a Day of Service Food Drive on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
People can drive up and drop off donations at the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank in Hampton on January 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
