25 Years in the Life of a Food Bank
Harvesters food bank in Kansas City has been around for 30 years now and the organization acknowledged 25 years of service and accomplishments of the president Karen Haren during an all-staff meeting today. Karen attributed the success and growth of the food bank to "staying on mission and the great staff and volunteers."
The ceremony reflected on the increase in food distributed over the 25 years. In 1986, 4 million pounds of food was distributed and $100,000 were raised to purchase food. In 2010, 35 million pounds of food was distributed and $3 million was raised for food purchase. This represents a nine-fold increase in food distributed in and around Kansas City over the 25 years.
The large increase in the numbers of food distributed is bittersweet for most people in the food assistance business because an increase in food distribution means they are provided relief yet the demand still grows. It's a sad commentary on this most wealthiest nation that has so many working people that are not able to sustain themselves without assistance.
What started at Harvesters as a "food rescue" program -- recovering food from restaurants and delivering it to shelters -- has now grown into a sophisticated operation with multiple programs, including several government-sponsored programs, that serve low-income and working people. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) are two federally-funded programs that feed low-income elderly and women, respectively. Other programs like BackSnack provide food to children at schools where a certain percentage of children are on the Free or Reduced Lunch program. The BackSnack program now feeds 13,000 children at 295 schools in the Harvesters service area across western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
TEFAP is typically "written out of the budget" by some White House administrations, only to have poverty advocacy groups pressure legislators to fund the program each year. Harvesters handles 3000 TEFAP cases, a 100% increase over previous years. Foodlinks America reports that Rep. Harold Rogers, chair of the House Appropriations Committee said: “Our intent is to make deep but manageable cuts in nearly every area of government, leaving no stone unturned and allowing no agency or program to be held sacred.” These proposed cuts include $750 for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and $20 million for CSFP.
If news about Federal budget strains is not enough, Governor Sam Brownback is proposing severe cuts in mental health care in Kansas that can only mean one thing -- more low-income or working people out on the streets with mental health problems, that is, more homeless people that need care.
The ceremony reflected on the increase in food distributed over the 25 years. In 1986, 4 million pounds of food was distributed and $100,000 were raised to purchase food. In 2010, 35 million pounds of food was distributed and $3 million was raised for food purchase. This represents a nine-fold increase in food distributed in and around Kansas City over the 25 years.
The large increase in the numbers of food distributed is bittersweet for most people in the food assistance business because an increase in food distribution means they are provided relief yet the demand still grows. It's a sad commentary on this most wealthiest nation that has so many working people that are not able to sustain themselves without assistance.
What started at Harvesters as a "food rescue" program -- recovering food from restaurants and delivering it to shelters -- has now grown into a sophisticated operation with multiple programs, including several government-sponsored programs, that serve low-income and working people. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) are two federally-funded programs that feed low-income elderly and women, respectively. Other programs like BackSnack provide food to children at schools where a certain percentage of children are on the Free or Reduced Lunch program. The BackSnack program now feeds 13,000 children at 295 schools in the Harvesters service area across western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
TEFAP is typically "written out of the budget" by some White House administrations, only to have poverty advocacy groups pressure legislators to fund the program each year. Harvesters handles 3000 TEFAP cases, a 100% increase over previous years. Foodlinks America reports that Rep. Harold Rogers, chair of the House Appropriations Committee said: “Our intent is to make deep but manageable cuts in nearly every area of government, leaving no stone unturned and allowing no agency or program to be held sacred.” These proposed cuts include $750 for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and $20 million for CSFP.
If news about Federal budget strains is not enough, Governor Sam Brownback is proposing severe cuts in mental health care in Kansas that can only mean one thing -- more low-income or working people out on the streets with mental health problems, that is, more homeless people that need care.
"In his proposal, community mental health centers, like PACES, which serves children under 18 years old who are dealing with severe emotional and behavior issues, stand to lose more than $10 million in grants. Those grants are used to care for people without insurance or Medicaid." - Action 4 News in Kansas City.These food assistance and mental health care programs need more public support, not less.
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