LYNCHBURG, Va – Hunger Action Day is a nationwide call to raise awareness about food insecurity — and food banks and community partners in Southwest Virginia say the need is growing.
According to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, one in nine people in the region struggle to put food on the table, and the organization has seen a 16 percent increase in demand for food in recent years.
“Those are the concerns in that the costs just keep going up,” said Les Sinclair, communications and public relations manager for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “We have a great community of supporters that just continue to give, and if they give more that money will go to good use.”
Sinclair said the food bank distributes about 5.9 million pounds of food from its Lynchburg distribution center into the community and that federal programs, including emergency food assistance, provide roughly 20%-25% of its inventory.
Eric Kaufman, a Virginia Tech professor who has researched food insecurity in Southwest Virginia, said people across demographics are affected.
“They don’t discriminate based on what someone’s demographics are,” Kaufman said. “It’s a variety of circumstances that can lead to these unfortunate circumstances.”
With demand rising, the food bank is urging residents to take action during Hunger Action Month by donating funds, volunteering or advocating for policies such as the Farm Bill that expand access to food assistance.
“It provides bout 20- 25% of our food inventory through the emergency food assistance program and other USDA programs,” Sinclair said. “There’s enough food in this country to feed everyone; we just need the political will to make sure that food gets from the farmers to the food banks, to the people who need it.”
Hunger Action Month runs through the end of September. Find more information on Blue Ridge Area Food Bank here.