Food Banks

This Food Bank Is Bringing A HelloFresh Approach To Its Pantry

May 16, 2023 Cinnamon Janzer, Next City. Create! Food and Agriculture, Food Banks, health, Wisconsin

The Fritz Food Pantry in Madison prides itself on providing a wide variety of foods and ingredients to accommodate as many diets, allergies and food preferences as possible. Their approach speaks not just to the continuing hunger crisis exacerbated by the pandemic; food pantries like The Fritz have also been shown to have an important influence on the dietary health of their customers. But just because a variety of healthy foods and ingredients are offered doesn’t mean that every visitor has the ability to put recipes together at home. So Abby Warfel, a volunteer turned part-time pantry assistant, had an idea: assembling step-by-step, HelloFresh-inspired meal kits.

US Food Banks Struggle To Feed Hungry Amid Surging Prices

November 10, 2021 Janie Har, Associated Press. Educate! Food Banks, Food Security, Hunger, Inflation

Oakland, CA — U.S. food banks already dealing with increased demand from families sidelined by the pandemic now face a new challenge — surging food prices and supply chain issues walloping the nation. The higher costs and limited availability mean some families may get smaller servings or substitutions for staples such as peanut butter, which costs nearly double what it did a year ago. As holidays approach, some food banks worry they won’t have enough stuffing and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and Christmas. “What happens when food prices go up is food insecurity for those who are experiencing it just gets worse,” said Katie Fitzgerald, chief operating officer of Feeding America, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the efforts of more than 200 food banks across the country.

A French McDonald’s Is Now A Food Bank After Staff Resisted Shutdown

July 28, 2021 Sarah Jackson, Business Insider. Create! Food and Agriculture, Food Banks, France, Worker Rights and Jobs

At one McDonald's in Marseille, France, everyone eats for free. Locals don't pay a dime — or euro — for food there because the location is now a food bank. The restaurant originally opened with government backing in 1992 in a majority-Muslim neighborhood grappling with poverty and eventually employed 77 people, according to Vice. One of them was manager Kamel Guemari, who had been working there for more than 20 years since starting as a 16-year-old, according to NPR. The location was one of six franchises that frequently changed hands. In 2018, its franchiser said he would sell his five other locations to a fellow McDonald's franchiser. This particular store, however, would be sold on its own and turned into a halal restaurant, NPR reports.

‘This Is Not What A Food Bank Was Designed To Do’

June 15, 2020 By Maya L. Kapoor, High Country News. Create! Food Banks, Food Insecurity, Hunger, Poverty

“You have so many people that have been displaced from work, you have so many single moms with children at home, and you have so many isolated seniors, that the demand for services has just gone through the roof,” Blake Young, the organization’s president and CEO for 15 years, said. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the organization served approximately 150,000 people each month. In April and May, that number went up to more than 300,000 people. But the worst may be yet to come, thanks to the ongoing recession. Regional food banks, which are designed to be safety nets, not main sources of food, fear that they won’t be able to meet the swelling need.

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