‘Without you, we couldn’t eat.’ Bradenton food banks say need is growing as costs rise
The last time the shelves were full at the Food Bank of Manatee was about five months ago.
Since then, the shelves have gone increasingly bare as Bradenton area residents deal with raging inflation, which has sent the cost of food, gasoline and housing soaring.
The food bank is a program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, and the largest hunger-relief organization based in Manatee County.
Jim Shilling, director of The Bread Basket, an all-volunteer food pantry with a staff of 20, stopped by the Manatee Food Bank, 811 23rd Ave. E. , on Tuesday to replenish his supplies.
“We are seeing the number of people needing food go up and the food available go down,” Shilling said, as he paused pulling a pallet jack loaded with canned goods.
The Bread Basket, one of about 85 local food pantries served by the Manatee Food Bank, provides food to about 1,000 people a week.
“What they do here makes a difference. Without the Food Bank of Manatee, we can’t feed the people. We need to make sure the food bank stays healthy and well,” said Shilling, who works as a pilot for a major airline, and leads the food bank as a way of giving back to the community.
“The cost associated with life is going through the roof. This is one of the areas where we can make a difference,” he said.
How do you know the need is real? “When you have someone drive up with children in the car weeping and they say ‘God bless you, without you we couldn’t eat,’” Shilling said.
Yet, with the growing need, the supply of food at area food banks seems to be shrinking.
When the shelves were full at the food bank, Shilling might take 6,000 to 7,000 pounds of food a week to The Bread Basket. Lately, he has been able only to get about 30% of that. Instead of 1,500 pounds of meat, he might get 300 pounds, he said.
Shilling also gets food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Feeding Tampa Bay, but all are stressed with transportation issues and food costs making it difficult for all.
Amy Towery, vice president of development for Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, said the food bank has sent out appeals to faith groups, civic organizations and even to departing winter visitors, asking them to donate whatever food they might otherwise be leaving behind.
“We rely 100% on the support of the local community because we are locally based,” Towery said.
“We are seeing families with so much need, but with so much gratitude,” she said.
After more than two years of the pandemic, when it looked like things might be getting back to normal, a new set of problems arose with supply chain shortages and price increases.
“The rate of change happened so rapidly. It didn’t go incrementally. It went at a right angle,” Shilling said. “We have people living in their cars.”
Adds Towery: “With the pandemic, everyday was an adjustment to a new challenge. Now we are seeing it with the supply chain, gas prices and some of the highest housing prices in the country.”
Both Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee and All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota are recipients of this week’s 2022 Giving Challenge presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. They’ll get $125,935 and $342,973, respectively.
In addition, The Deerbrook Charitable Trust has issued a $100,000 Challenge Gift for support raised by Meals on Wheels in March, April, and May to feed those in need in the community.
For more information or to donate, call 941-747-4655 or go to https://mealsonwheelsplus.org/
