Food Banks Across the Country Report Serious Shortages

In the face of rising demand for services and a drop in federal aid and donations, food banks around the country are reporting a crisis, says The New York Times. While some groups have responded to the worsening situation by rationing food portions, others have been forced to use supplies reserved for disaster relief or even to close down completely.

In New England, the New Hampshire Food Bank reported that while its supplies had dropped 30 percent this year, demand for food has increased 40 percent. The Vermont Food Bank reported its supply of food was down 50 percent from last year. Doug O’Brien, Vermont Food Bank’s chief executive, said, “It’s a crisis mode.”

Matthew Whooley, a father of four in Manchester, N.H., said that recent food-bank rationing was beginning to seriously affect his family and many other working families. “Every week there’s less and less food,” Mr. Whooley said. “It used to be potatoes, meat, and bread, and last week we got Doritos and flour. The food is getting shorter, and the lines keep getting longer.”

Ross Fraser, a spokesman for America’s Second Harvest, an organization that distributes over two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually, said the shortage was the worst the group had seen in 26 years. “Suddenly it’s on everyone’s radar,” Mr. Fraser said. “Food banks are calling us and saying, ‘My God, we have to get food.’”

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