Andrew Schiff is the CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The need for food increased exponentially over the past year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Schiff talks to Providence Business News about how the food bank has held up thus far and how the food bank will stay ahead of the high demand.
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PBN: How has food distribution been at the food bank since the start of the new year? Has distribution still been at a fast pace or has demand waned?
SCHIFF: The demand for food assistance at our 159 member agencies remains high and we continue to distribute food in record amounts. We are currently on track to provide more than 16 million pounds of food to Rhode Islanders in need by the end of our fiscal year in June. That’s a third more than we gave out before the pandemic.
Pre-COVID, in 2019, we distributed nearly 12 million pounds of food. That was still a lot, but we’ve since had to increase that amount by 4 million pounds. Thousands of new people – Rhode Islanders who never needed food assistance before – have turned to food pantries to feed their families. The food bank’s network of member agencies went from serving 54,000 people per month to 68,000. Researchers at Brown University found that as a result of the pandemic, 1 in 4 Rhode Island households could not afford adequate food. For Black and Latinx households, the prevalence of food insecurity was even higher: 1 in 3.
PBN: Have supply chains been less disruptive in the food bank receiving food?
SCHIFF: The acquisition of food has been compounded by the fact that there is less surplus in the food industry, so food donations are down. At times, specific items have been difficult to find, especially perishables like eggs and dairy products.
To meet the demand in the community, we’ve had to increase the amount of food we purchase by as much as 33%. On the positive side, by purchasing in bulk, we are able to secure the best prices and obtain the food that is needed most by our member agencies.
PBN: The food bank raised $36,140 on 401 Gives Day on April 1. What will that funding be used for?
SCHIFF: We are so thankful for the support of generous Rhode Islanders whether they give through statewide events like 401Gives and Giving Tuesday or donate directly to the food bank on our website or in the mail. The response from the community has been overwhelming over the past year. It’s heartening to know there are so many people who care. The funds raised help us acquire, process and distribute food and sustain operations at the food bank, including maintaining our warehouse and our fleet of eight trucks.
PBN: Have volunteers been able to return to the food bank to help out? If not, do you hope they will return sometime this year?
SCHIFF: Currently, volunteers are not serving at the food bank, but we do hope to begin offering opportunities again in the fall. In the meantime, we have worked with Family Service of Rhode Island and Age-Friendly Rhode Island to launch Be Kind RI, a web portal where volunteers can find opportunities to directly help people with access to food. Participants sign up and receive a notification via text when someone is seeking a food delivery and they work directly with the person in need to arrange it.
A number of our member agencies are also in need of volunteers to assist with unloading food deliveries and preparing food for distribution to guests. Our community farms are also starting their growing season and they will be in need of hands for planting and harvesting fresh produce. Visit our website and click on the volunteer button to learn more.
PBN: The Biden administration in early March announced that states will receive an additional $1.25 billion to purchase foods through the Agricultural Marketing Service. How much of that will the food bank receive to keep up with demand for food?
SCHIFF: These funds were just announced, so we’re not sure how much Rhode Island will receive. The U.S. Department of Agriculture already provides food to the food bank through a number of different programs. The largest program is the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supplies healthy canned and fresh food to us and other food banks across the country. About one-third of the food that we distribute is from the USDA.
We appreciate President Biden’s commitment to aiding families in need with the American Rescue Act. We’ve seen over the past year that direct assistance to people has a huge effect on reducing food insecurity. This package provides critical assistance to Rhode Islanders in a number of ways: increasing SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits for qualified participants; continuing Pandemic EBT [Electronic Benefit Transfer], which gives low-income families extra benefits to shop for food; and increasing the size and scope of the child tax credit. It is going to take time for the economy to recover and it is going to take ongoing government assistance and community support to repair the damage to the economy.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
