The need for support at the Ashland Emergency Food Bank has increased due to a changing economic landscape in our region. Rising inflation has left many individuals and families struggling to make ends meet, forcing them to turn to the local food bank for assistance. Rising living costs, including housing, healthcare, and utility expenses, have further stretched household budgets, leaving less money available for purchasing food.
Amey Broeker, Executive Director at the Ashland Emergency Food Bank shared some alarming trends that she is seeing locally.
- We are now serving on average 42 households/day, up from the average of 21 at the start of the year.
- We are distributing nearly 1900 pounds of food a day, over 9000 pounds a week, and almost 40,000 pounds a month.
- We are seeing a much higher occurrence of households using their additional shops than we were at the start of the year.
- Since the *SNAP benefit reduction, we are seeing 80-90+ new households per month.
- As you might expect, we are spending considerably more on food purchases.
What Can You Do To Help?
According to Amey, “I still get asked if we prefer food or monetary donations by drivers. My reply is we prefer both. We need the cash to meet purchase demands. And, we use that money judiciously. So our clients love what comes in through donations, organics, condiments, baking mixes, crackers/cookies etc…which we do not buy. So both are fantastic and appreciated.”
Thank you for your continued support of the Ashland Food Project and the Ashland Emergency Food Bank.
