Meeting the Growing Demand

“We’re cautiously optimistic again.” This is what Cheryl Schondek, Executive Vice President of Operations, says.

More than two years into the pandemic, many of the challenges we faced at the beginning of this crisis, like supply chain breakdowns and labor shortages, are still recurring issues, but there are also new hurdles to feeding our neighbors in need.

Two such hurdles are rising food prices and the unpredictable availability of goods. Prices for many items like bananas, apples and canned vegetables have increased dramatically. The cost of eggs alone has risen by 43%!

This has a double impact on GBFBs work… more people become food insecure as higher prices put more food out of reach for those already struggling with hunger and those living on very tight budgets. And it impacts our ability to meet today’s demand for 115 million pounds of food, up from 65 million at the pandemic’s onset.

Thankfully, supporters like you have been the solution to both of these challenges.

Cheryl says, “We are fortunate to have manufacturers, retailers and distributors who donate food. But these donations have been slightly declining. Since we’ve doubled our volume over these last two years, we can’t rely on donations only. So we’ve had to lean into purchasing food much more than before, because purchasing is predictable and controllable.”

This is where your generosity has helped make a powerful difference.

Cheryl adds, “Donors enable us to do what we do. If we didn’t have the money, we couldn’t buy the food. It’s safe to say we would be distributing 50% less and we’d be unable to meet to the need without your support.”