Bas-Rhin food bank. Strasbourg on 18/11/2019. - G. Varela / 20 Minutes

This is one of the consequences of confinement: fewer donations, fewer volunteers but increasing demand. The coronavirus pandemic weighs heavily on American food banks.

"People are even more hungry than before and others have to mobilize, help and not be afraid," says Rob Britton, a volunteer who fills cartons of food at the Washington Area Food Bank (CAFB). . The gigantic warehouse of the organization, which centralizes the products intended for the partner associations, however sounds empty.

Falling donations

Because of health precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, the number of volunteers present to unload food, store it or fill the boxes increased from 100 to 40 per day. The Food Bank provides about 400,000 meals a year in the Washington area. But since the start of the epidemic and the shutdown of many businesses, "thousands" of people made redundant or unemployed without pay need to eat, says Radha Muthiah, president of CAFB.

At the same time, "food donations have fallen by 50% or even 75% according to donors in recent weeks," she adds, describing this situation as "dramatic". The situation is similar for partner associations of the Food Bank, such as “Food & Friends”, while the containment measures are becoming more and more strict. Over 85% of Americans are expected to stay at home. "Restrictions on non-essential travel continue to increase and we know they will have an impact on the routes that our volunteers choose to take," said manager Carrie Stoltzfus.

"Every dollar counts"

The association cooks and carries meals at home to more than 2,800 people, some of whom suffer from serious illnesses and cannot move, around the American capital. With a disease as infectious as Covid-19, these customers are a high-risk group. Since Monday, the number of people present in the same workshop has been limited to respect the sanitary distance and the workspaces are separated by 1.5 meters, specifies Carrie Stoltzfus. Volunteers follow one another 15 minutes apart to take the packed lunches and the distribution will be limited to once a week, against three usually.

And money, the sinews of war against the food crisis, is also running out. The fundraising campaigns planned until June, which would have raised a million dollars, were canceled due to coronavirus. "Times are tough for everyone and every dollar counts," she says. "We need funding to buy the products and bring them to those who need them," adds Radha Muthiah of CAFB. "We have been smart in adapting our distribution model," says Radha Muthiah, who is now focused on "commodities."

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  • Food
  • Call for donations
  • Solidarity
  • United States
  • World
  • food Bank