The shelves at the Klamath Lake Counties Food Bank are empty. That’s not an exaggeration, they are bare. Mybasin.com news took a tour of the warehouse on Maywood Drive in Klamath Falls last Friday, and took it all in. We sat down with Food Bank Director Lori Garrard to talk about why the shelves were so bare and how the community could help.
“Our shelves are bare because we get about 70% of our food from the Oregon Food Bank, and Oregon Food Bank is seeing less food from the federal government, therefore it trickles down to us where we get less food, and also the cost of food is so high that the money they do have to spend, they can only purchase what they can afford.” Garrard said.
With the looming Government Shutdown, the community in Klamath County is being affected and the Food Bank is serving more people than ever before. And as the end of the month reaches, and the threat of potentially thousands of Klamath residents losing their SNAP benefits, the Food Bank is gearing up for an even bigger increase.
Garrard also explained that furloughed or laid off employees from the federal government are now needing assistance as well. “We’ve already seen a huge, huge increase in the last couple weeks of people visiting our pantries, and so more food is going out the doors, we have less food on the shelves. We have seen about a 35% increase so far and that’s before benefits have been shut off. I anticipate it getting higher than that, especially if the shutoff continues.”
Over the years, the food bank has assisted thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people in the basin and it doesn’t plan on stopping that support.
“I want people to know that this is dire. We are in a dire, serious situation. People are struggling and the last thing they should be worried about is food on their table.” Garrard stated with a look of genuine concern and worry for the people in the community. Even in this time of dire need, she remains hopeful though. She went on talking about how great the community is, “I have an amazing staff and an amazing community to support me.”
There are many ways the community can rally behind the food bank. The easiest way to help is to make a secure online donation on their website, klamathfoodbank.org. Other simple ways include cleaning out your cupboards and donating non-perishable foods and toiletries/personal items to the food bank. Lori also explained that if people don’t have the monetary means to donate, they are always looking for volunteers to help out.
If businesses would like to join in, Super Market Saturday is coming up Saturday, November 8th. This is one of the biggest fundraisers the food bank does every year as they get businesses to be one ton sponsors. For a $500 donation, the food bank can access one ton of food. Their goal this year is to raise 75 tons of food. $1 accesses about 5 pounds of food – or 3 meals for the food bank.
If you or someone you know needs help with food assistance, you can visit one of the many food pantries throughout the basin, and a full list of locations and times can be found at klamathfoodbank.org.
Written by Melissa Tolbert, MyBasin.com News