Fewer government donations has food banks' cupboards running bare

Source: San Jose Mercury News

LOS ANGELES—The cupboards at area food banks are precipitously bare, due in large part to a steep decline in government surplus commodities.

"The state of food banks, I think, in America—and in Los Angeles in particular—is in really dismal shape," said H. Eric Shockman, president of Mazon, a Los Angeles nonprofit that funds hunger relief groups across the country and internationally.

He and other advocates say they are scrambling to find new sources of nutritional food to feed the hungry.

Since 2002, donations of longtime staples for food banks—such as cheese and beans—have been cut by more than half in California, from nearly 100 million pounds per year to 40 million. That means 44.7 million fewer meals for those in need across the state, according to the California Association of Food Banks.

The need is felt particularly hard among low-income families in the Los Angeles area, where housing and transportation costs continue to rise.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8038634

running low on contributions. last year i could have supplied a whole house with goods for 5ct on the dollar. so far this year nothing.

this will only get tragically worse on both ends - less given, while greater numbers in need. :-(

A couple of dollars can help tremendously - if one has it.