Rising cost and less money

Congress continues to debate the Farm Bill in joint committee and a pending recess means a solution remains months into the future. Remember, this is the 2007 Farm Bill which should have resulted in improved funding of food programs beginning last October. Meanwhile, prices of food and fuel climb and more families become stressed in making ends meet. The March 1st edition of The Non-Profit Times has an extensive article about the problems facing food banks in relation to increased transportation costs and a declining level of donations from national suppliers and from the government commodities program.
We certainly see a shortage of donated food and commodities here on the gulf coast. After posting increases in food distribution each year since constructing our Theodore warehouse in 2000, we have the potential in 2008 of posting a decline in food distribution of the first time. This is disheartening because at the same time our resources may be declining, recession and price increases are forcing more and more people to seek help when their month expenses exceed their pay check. The $1 a gallon price increase can add $50 to $60 per month to the cost of going to work every day while spiking prices for bread, milks and eggs capture an additional $20 or so to a food bill. In a region with an average household income of $37,000, an extra $100 in expenses just to stay where you are financially is a burden for many, many people.
We are doing what we can. Four staff members just completed training on finding new sources of food. We’ve gotten the attention of some local food sources and will begin picking up additional food locally to help off-set the decline in national donations. We’ve met with our elected officials and know they understand our challenges and also support getting the Farm Bill through the process as rapidly as possible. We’re expanding our child nutrition program to additional sites to help families indirectly through after school snack programs.
What can’t we expect? State funding support is unlikely to grow because state budgets in Florida and Alabama are down. United Way programs can generally be expected to have a tough year since more people will feel the strain of increased living costs and reduce donations. So, even though United Way recognizes the problems of feeding people, they may not be able to assist us with additional funds.
The Farm Bill needs to be passed and we need to find ways to do the most we can with what we have. People won’t starve. But, people will be forced to make choices between healthy foods and cheap foods or watering down a gallon of milk to save money for the power bill.