Earlier this month, the SLO Meals Financial institution informed KSBY Information that meals insecurity in San Luis Obispo County rose by 16 p.c over the previous 12 months.
We spoke with SLO Meals Financial institution officers about why there’s an even bigger want this 12 months and the way their new meals pantry helps group members fill up on meals.
“Since Covid, after we began seeing extra folks come out to our warehouse,” stated Molly Kern, the SLO Meals Financial institution CEO. “We have been doing our greatest to make it possible for it doesn’t matter what, everybody’s getting nutritious meals.”
In keeping with Kern, folks used to select up prepackaged meals gadgets, resembling contemporary produce and shelf-stable items, at their entrance desk.
However their latest distribution heart, which opened in April, now permits their guests to decide on precisely what suits their wants.
“Within the pantry, you will have an choice of selecting shelf-stable gadgets, frozen meat or fish, and filling up a whole bag of no matter produce is a match for you,” stated Kern. “I feel nice examples are folks with kids. Somebody would possibly like apples and oranges. You may make that selection and get precisely what you need as a substitute of a mixture of all the pieces.”
Kern added that the meals financial institution continues to see a rise within the variety of folks they serve within the county.
“We noticed a spike of people who we had been serving throughout Covid, however we had been actually heartened to see that in 2022, that quantity had gotten again to just about what was regular for our group pre-Covid, which was about 31,000 people who we had been serving every month,” stated Kern. “Since 2022, that quantity has grown by greater than 50%, in order that we are actually serving greater than 46,000 folks a month, and the 12 months will not be accomplished. And we proceed to see will increase month over month over month.”
Savannah Colevans, the senior supervisor for communications on the SLO Meals Financial institution, informed KSBY Information that the opening of the brand new pantry has been uplifting.
“The primary week that we had been right here,” stated Colevans. “We had folks come who had been right here time and time once more, and so they noticed the brand new area and it’s very lit up.”
Kern talked about that findfoodslo.org is one other useful resource to make use of to seek out different meals distribution facilities within the space.
