While the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s work is critical year after year to people in need, that work has reached a new level of importance this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Food bank CEO Andrew Schiff is seeing it play out. As unemployment in Rhode Island hit 12.6% in August, more people sought food assistance. He said the number of people the food bank is serving has increased exponentially since March, going from 53,000 per month to 68,000 per month.
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“Many people are seeking help for the first time and, in addition to receiving food assistance, need guidance on how to access additional resources in the community [such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] or rental assistance,” Schiff said.
During the height of the pandemic, the food bank distributed 45% more food than in the same period last year. Overall, food distribution over the last six months at the Providence-based nonprofit increased by 30% over the same period as last year, said Hugh Minor, the food bank’s spokesperson.
In addition to hiring additional workers to help keep food flowing into the community, the food bank has been purchasing food in bulk, often at higher rates, to make sure the warehouse is stocked with the most-needed items.
Early on in the pandemic, the food bank worked side by side with the R.I. Emergency Management Agency to distribute Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Meals Ready to Eat to the populations in greatest need, such as senior citizens who could not visit food pantries. The food bank also expanded its distribution of Meals4Kids boxes, which provide five days’ worth of breakfasts, lunches and snacks for children, and partnered with Farm Fresh Rhode Island to distribute additional boxes of fresh produce, meats and dairy products through the federal Farmers Feeding Families program.
Since the outbreak, due in large part to ongoing supply-chain shortages around the country, the amount of donated product from the food industry has decreased significantly. Of the 12 million pounds the food bank normally distributes annually, about 25% comes from supermarkets. However, that stopped initially because supermarkets struggled to keep up with the demand they were seeing on their own in the spring.
Schiff said donors have stepped up in a big way during this time by making much-needed financial gifts to ensure the food bank can both acquire food directly from suppliers and choose items more selectively so that it can offer healthy options.
From March through June, the food bank raised $7.2 million more than in 2019, Minor said. The raised funds were critical since donated products from the food industry are down 34% due to challenges faced by the supply chain, along with the food bank’s major food drives having to be canceled. To fill the gap, the food bank is buying 54% more food at wholesale. Minor said the food bank anticipates needing to maintain increased purchasing for as long as the pandemic remains, supply-chain issues continue and the economy takes time to recover.
“Donations primarily come from individual donors like you and me,” Schiff said. “People give as much as they can, and we ensure that every dollar makes a difference. Many people contacted us when they received their federal stimulus check and told us that they didn’t need the money and wanted the food bank to use it to feed our neighbors in need.”
Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., Bank of America Corp., United Natural Foods Inc. and MetLife Inc. also donated money to the food bank, Schiff said.
While the pandemic still looms, making the future uncertain, Schiff said the food bank will press forward to meet the increased demand for food assistance by continuing to seek funding from individuals, corporations and foundations, and purchasing food in bulk while negotiating the best prices.
“Many of the people we serve are the working poor,” Schiff said. “They may have one or two jobs but with part-time hours or only earning minimum wage. They are struggling to support their families with limited income and that was happening before COVID-19. Our donors have been extremely generous over the past six months and we hope they will continue to support our work in the challenging months ahead.”
