More and more Alaskans need help with food as prices spike at the gas pump and on grocery shelves, while pandemic relief dollars dry up, local providers say.
Volunteers Jill Smythe, left, and Lois Grey sort food for the agency shopping area on May 18 at the Food Bank of Alaska in Anchorage. The agency shopping area is where partner agencies can get food to distribute through their own programs.
Cara Durr, chief of advocacy and public policy, gives a tour of the new Food Bank of Alaska building on May 18 in Anchorage. “I’ve literally had people tell me that if it wasn’t for food banks, they and their families would have gotten hungry,” she said.Several factors may be contributing to this increase in demand for help with food right now.
People receiving food tell those working at Lutheran Social Services that their dollars just aren’t going far enough at the store right now, said Alan Budahl, executive director there.receives some 20 to 30 calls a day for rental assistance. “They could come to a food pantry and get a week’s worth of food,” Durr said. “That’s a big help in the budget.”Last fall, demand slowed, said Greg Meyer, director at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank in Soldotna. But recently, it increased, he said.
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