Pandemic Causes Rise in Need for Food Banks in US
2020-04-27
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1American Brooklyn Dotson needed food. Dotson had worked at a warehouse in Tennessee, but she lost her job.
2She told the government about her situation in hopes of getting financial aid for the unemployed.
3But her first payment had yet to arrive.
4So, the young Nashville woman drove almost 50 kilometers to the GraceWorks Ministries food bank in Franklin.
5There, workers loaded about $350 worth of food into her car.
6"I don't have any income coming in...it's just hard to get any help right now," Dotson said.
7She spoke with The Associated Press while waiting in line at GraceWorks.
8Food banks across the United States stay busy even in the best of economic times.
9Now, however, the coronavirus pandemic has brought increased demand as millions of people like Dotson are unexpectedly out of work.
10"About 50 percent of the people coming through our lines have never been here before," said Valencia A. Breckenridge, who serves as president of Graceworks.
11Just as demand for food is increasing, however, many of the people and places that offered donations in the past have stopped.
12Restaurants and hotels are closed or have reduced operations.
13At other times, they gave all their extra food to food banks.
14"It is a perfect storm scenario," said Katie Fitzgerald.
15She is chief operating officer of Feeding America.
16It is an organization representing more than 60,000 food banks nationwide.
17Feeding America has seen an increase in demand from 98 percent of its member food banks, one study found.
18In recent legislation, the U.S. Congress included money for emergency food aid.
19Fitzgerald has warned that the money may take months to reach local neighborhoods.
20She notes that the demand is now.
21The $100 million that billionaire Jeff Bezos promised to her organization on April 2 was already given out last week, she noted.
22"When people say what do you need the most, we need food and money," said Nancy Keil.
23She is president and chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
24Food banks have also had to find ways to give out their food supplies while keeping their workers safe from the coronavirus.
25The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank in California has built "pop-up" food banks after some of its sites closed because of the pandemic, a spokeswoman said.
26The newest sites serve hundreds of people every day.
27They are open for longer hours and use open spaces to enforce social distance.
28Many older adults work as volunteers at food banks, which creates another problem.
29Older people face a greater risk from the coronavirus.
30The East Nashville Cooperative Ministry food bank has considered closing because so many of its volunteers are older adults.
31Judy Wahlstrom, age 70, directs the program.
32She has refused to stop her volunteer work, but taken steps to protect herself.
33Only one person is permitted to enter the food bank at a time, and she now wears a face mask.
34"I said, 'If I get it, I get it,'" Wahlstrom said.
35"I don't have anybody at home dependent on me. I said, 'I got to keep it open.'"
36At the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, spokeswoman Cathy Nestlen said nearly 45,000 people helped out last year.
37This year the group is using more paid employees to reduce the number of volunteers.
38The bank acts as a food distribution center for hundreds of smaller food banks.
39It recently moved to a six-day work week and is considering going to seven days a week.
40Oklahoma is one of the states that had a high level of malnutrition in the country before the virus, Nestlen said.
41"When a household becomes economically insecure, they almost immediately become food-insecure," she added.
42I'm Jill Robbins.
1American Brooklyn Dotson needed food. Dotson had worked at a warehouse in Tennessee, but she lost her job. She told the government about her situation in hopes of getting financial aid for the unemployed. But her first payment had yet to arrive. 2So, the young Nashville woman drove almost 50 kilometers to the GraceWorks Ministries food bank in Franklin. There, workers loaded about $350 worth of food into her car. 3"I don't have any income coming in...it's just hard to get any help right now," Dotson said. She spoke with The Associated Press while waiting in line at GraceWorks. 4Food banks across the United States stay busy even in the best of economic times. Now, however, the coronavirus pandemic has brought increased demand as millions of people like Dotson are unexpectedly out of work. 5"About 50 percent of the people coming through our lines have never been here before," said Valencia A. Breckenridge, who serves as president of Graceworks. 6Lack of donations 7Just as demand for food is increasing, however, many of the people and places that offered donations in the past have stopped. Restaurants and hotels are closed or have reduced operations. At other times, they gave all their extra food to food banks. 8"It is a perfect storm scenario," said Katie Fitzgerald. She is chief operating officer of Feeding America. It is an organization representing more than 60,000 food banks nationwide. 9Feeding America has seen an increase in demand from 98 percent of its member food banks, one study found. 10In recent legislation, the U.S. Congress included money for emergency food aid. Fitzgerald has warned that the money may take months to reach local neighborhoods. She notes that the demand is now. The $100 million that billionaire Jeff Bezos promised to her organization on April 2 was already given out last week, she noted. 11"When people say what do you need the most, we need food and money," said Nancy Keil. She is president and chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. 12Keeping volunteers safe from the virus 13Food banks have also had to find ways to give out their food supplies while keeping their workers safe from the coronavirus. 14The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank in California has built "pop-up" food banks after some of its sites closed because of the pandemic, a spokeswoman said. The newest sites serve hundreds of people every day. They are open for longer hours and use open spaces to enforce social distance. 15Many older adults work as volunteers at food banks, which creates another problem. Older people face a greater risk from the coronavirus. 16The East Nashville Cooperative Ministry food bank has considered closing because so many of its volunteers are older adults. 17Judy Wahlstrom, age 70, directs the program. She has refused to stop her volunteer work, but taken steps to protect herself. Only one person is permitted to enter the food bank at a time, and she now wears a face mask. 18"I said, 'If I get it, I get it,'" Wahlstrom said. "I don't have anybody at home dependent on me. I said, 'I got to keep it open.'" 19At the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, spokeswoman Cathy Nestlen said nearly 45,000 people helped out last year. This year the group is using more paid employees to reduce the number of volunteers. 20The bank acts as a food distribution center for hundreds of smaller food banks. It recently moved to a six-day work week and is considering going to seven days a week. 21Oklahoma is one of the states that had a high level of malnutrition in the country before the virus, Nestlen said. 22"When a household becomes economically insecure, they almost immediately become food-insecure," she added. 23I'm Jill Robbins. 24The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 25________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27warehouse - n. a place where goods are stored 28income - n. money from a job or other work 29pandemic - n. a contagious illness that crosses into many countries 30scenario - n. a situation 31pop-up - adj. a temporary store or business that opens and closes suddenly 32site - n. a place or position; an area of ground 33cooperative - adj. people sharing the responsibility for running an organization or building or store 34distribution - n. allocating items to people or businesses