Local food banks see increase in people visiting
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) –
Due to the high cost of living today,
local food banks say they’ve seen an increase in people looking for help.
“
As prices have
increased, we have a lot of food that we get from
government
sources, and that has changed as federal
allocations
of the money for food
assistance
had been changed. S
o, were seeing less food
coming
in
from that source
”
,
said
P
resident
and
CEO
of
the
M
iddle
Georgia
Community Food Bank
,
Kathy
M
c
C
ollum.
She shared what she feels is the main reason for the increase in people coming in for food.
“
A lot of people who are working and having trouble making ends meet,” she said. “
F
olks who are working in lower cost jobs; with the cost of housing, cost of childcare, and the cost of food,
it’s
just more than there able to handle
on a daily basis
”
.
McCollum
has this message for those who are too ashamed to ask for help.
“
We know that
it’s
hard to ask for
help, if
it’s
the first time.
I
try to
reassure
people,
that’s
exactly why
we’re
here.
W
e want to make sure that our neighbors have enough to eat so they have good healthy
lifestyles. Y
ou can’t do that without
good
nutrition food”
,
said McCollum.
Executive Director of
L
oaves and
F
ishes in Macon
,
Janet
W
right, says they’ve
also seen
a number of
people
come in ne
e
ding food, and they’re doing the
best they can to meet that demand.
“Now that school is out, we see families with
their
children online for food
and lunch, there bring
their
children as well
”
,
said Wright.
She
says they welcome all people who need a meal.
