How has the Covid pandemic impacted the food bank?
During the pandemic our community and nation stepped up to help those hit hardest by lost wages. Between stimulus checks, increased unemployment, free meals for school-aged children, a temporary boost in food stamp benefits, new community networks, and the eviction moratorium, some of our regular shoppers were able to get by without needing the food bank for a while. Many told us that they wanted to leave food bank resources for those who needed it more than they do.
What we have seen throughout the past year is a larger than average number of new families making their first food bank visit. In October alone, 31 new households signed up to use the food bank.
Given the temporary nature of the additional support mechanisms available in 2020 and 2021, client numbers started creeping up in June and July, and have continued to rise each month. The food bank is expecting and preparing to see shopping numbers increase rapidly again throughout the winter and into next year.
Like everyone else, Good Cheer has been affected by the unpredictability of the last 2 years, and a myriad of supply chain issues that have arisen from the covid pandemic. In early 2020 we were bulking up our warehouse to have enough food and supplies to feed food bank families through whatever was ahead. Then the shutdown hit. Unlike a full-size grocery store, our space was too small for proper social distancing. We went from a bustling 40-50 volunteers per week at the food bank, down to just 10-12 on dispersed tasks like driving trucks. Our food distribution model had to shift to curbside pickup, with a shopping list system to allow clients to choose preferred food items.
With temporarily smaller client numbers, a reduced volunteer crew, generous levels of food donation from the community, and an overflowing warehouse, we started to run out of space. Pivoting to meet the needs of the moment, we added storage that allowed us to set aside some items with a long shelf life for future disaster preparedness. And we also started sharing our surplus with other community partners that feed people. In 2021 alone, we have distributed over 12,000 lbs of food to community partners in our network, such as SPiN Cafe, Whidbey Island Nourishes, the Soup Kitchen at Island Church, and the Bayview Senior Center.
The federal government made money available through the CARES act for food banks to pay for food, supplies, and infrastructure improvements. With shopping numbers temporarily low, we were able to redirect efforts into leveraging some of this money to replace aging and failing equipment in our facility, including modern high-efficiency display refrigeration and freezers to replace the used set that we had been limping along well past its intended lifespan.
Our warehouse of dry goods continues to be well stocked. It is more important than ever to donate cash instead of cans, so we can supplement our donation stream with food purchases to account for unpredictable donation rates of different kinds of foods, especially perishable items like dairy products, meat, and fresh produce. Our wishlist is on the website, and cash donations are preferred: they never expire, don’t take up storage space, reduce sorting and handling time, and can be used to meet the need of the moment, whether it’s carrots or cottage cheese.
We are extremely grateful for the way the Whidbey community has rallied around us during this time. As much as we are able, we are positioning the food bank to come through the pandemic more resilient than ever, and ready to welcome back households that got a temporary break from living in food insecurity in addition to the new shopper families that may be experiencing it for the first time.
