“What we’re seeing today is individuals are needing food for longer periods of time than ever before,” she said at a mass food distribution at Wright State University’s Nutter Center Thursday.
Prior to the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes, the foodbank was seeing households an average of 1.3 times a year, Truesdale explained.
“Today, in 2023, we are seeing households an average of 5.64 times a year,” she said.” So while the overall unduplicated number of individuals who do report food insecurity in our community is down, we’re seeing people for longer periods of time.”
The Foodbank, Inc. serves Greene, Montgomery and Preble counties and uses data from Map the Meal Gap to determine how many people need food assistance or are facing food insecurity.
It also looks at where the most people need help and if there are already food assistance programs in those neighborhoods.
“If there seems to be a gap in services we’re popping up and doing distributions, like this mass food distribution and like the mobile farmers markets,” Truesdale said.
People who seek the foodbank’s services typically cite inflation and a high cost of living as the reasons they need assistance. Truesdale said a lack of sustainable wage and lack of employment are also common factors.
Other uncertainties, including wars outside the U.S. and the upcoming 2024 presidential election, and colder temperatures are also things that can lead to more people using The Foodbank, Inc.’s services.
Those who need food assistance can visit https://thefoodbankdayton.org/ to learn more about The Foodbank, Inc. and how they can get help.
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