Severe drought dries up W. Wash. food banks' supplies
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The severe drought across much of the nation is taking food from the tables of people struggling to get by right here in Western Washington.
Parched land and withering crops stretch across thousands of miles of U.S. farm country sending food prices soaring. That's tough enough on a family budget, but extra hard for food bank charities like Food Lifeline which serve thousands of families in need.
"Our food purchase budgets just aren't going to go as far as they have in the past," said Linda Nageotte, CEO of Food Lifeline.
Currently, Nageotte says the shelves in their warehouse are only half as full as they should be and she knows the end of summer is usually when they receive some of the fewest donations.
"We're concerned because we simply don't have enough food to go around," she said.
While spiking food prices are busting Food Lifeline's budget, the lack of rain in other parts of the country isn’t helping.
"We're beginning to see some of the impacts of the drought here in Washington state. Many of the products that would typically be donated to a local food bank are suddenly now being diverted and can become the food supply in other states as produce items, such as potatoes or onions," said Nageotte.
Now, Food Lifeline is hoping residents and community members will step up, think of them and offer some support the next time they head to the store.
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More information can be found at the Food Lifeline's website »
Parched land and withering crops stretch across thousands of miles of U.S. farm country sending food prices soaring. That's tough enough on a family budget, but extra hard for food bank charities like Food Lifeline which serve thousands of families in need.
"Our food purchase budgets just aren't going to go as far as they have in the past," said Linda Nageotte, CEO of Food Lifeline.
Currently, Nageotte says the shelves in their warehouse are only half as full as they should be and she knows the end of summer is usually when they receive some of the fewest donations.
"We're concerned because we simply don't have enough food to go around," she said.
While spiking food prices are busting Food Lifeline's budget, the lack of rain in other parts of the country isn’t helping.
"We're beginning to see some of the impacts of the drought here in Washington state. Many of the products that would typically be donated to a local food bank are suddenly now being diverted and can become the food supply in other states as produce items, such as potatoes or onions," said Nageotte.
Now, Food Lifeline is hoping residents and community members will step up, think of them and offer some support the next time they head to the store.
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More information can be found at the Food Lifeline's website »
When money is short, it is time for creative thinking and most of all creative cooking. Â When I was first married, we had nothing and our income was almost the same. Â My husband was in the military and he got paid every two weeks. Â One month an error was made in his paycheck and he was paid $18 instead of the usual $50. Â We lived paycheck to paycheck at that time, so I had to do some creative thinking and cooking. Â I bought a large slab of "fatback" and several bags of pinto beans. Â We made it through the two weeks until his next paycheck. Â We also had to put gas in our car so my husband could get back and forth to work. Â
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The food banks are in trouble, and need help, beans and fatback are cheap, it is an alternative, it causes lots of flatulence, but beans are a good source of nutrition. Â It was a staple many years ago and should be again today. Â It gets boring every day, but will keep you alive and is certainly better than nothing. Â Cooperation is needed from the general public as well as those dependent upon the food banks, when we had the $18 paycheck, we weren't eligible for food stamps and there weren't any food banks. Â Sadly many of those who need help from the food banks don't know how to stretch what they do have. Â We couldn't afford going to a movie, we did have TV but it was back before cable, and therefore became our only source of entertainment. Â
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I am sure I will be criticized for my comment, but the food banks need to teach those who depend upon them, to cut expenses and instructions on how to make the food they are given stretch...it would be interesting to see how those receiving the assistance would react and if they would actually take the ideas to heart and implement them. Â Â
 @Circe I work in a food bank and it's sort of odd, but when you DO try to teach a lot of people, they look at you like you have two heads.  They will pick canned beans and if we have dry, they often pass them by.  We even have a nice lady who comes out from a nonprofit to show people recipes with the food available that day, and people are reluctant to even taste her samples, much less take a recipe.  We really have become a slave to convenience - even though all that processed food is loaded with chemicals.  It's sad, really.
You must have been through the same years in the military that we were. I learned how to stretch a bag of beans to the limit. I know at the NW Harvest we process a lot of rice, beans, and oats and no matter how fast we get them out of there it's still not fast enough to satisfy the demand.
I lived in the Seattle area for 20 some years and now i'm living in Oklahoma where it's so dry our house foundation is cracking. Â If you look at the food that grocery stores toss out daily that isn't being bought. Â That is enough to feed thousands. Â It's not just Seattle that waste food, it's every where. Â The stores over inventory in fear they can't please everyone, then 2 days later it's waste. Â It's not a supply issue, it's a waste issue. Â Really, get a handle on the issue
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 @Don't Care Our food bank actually gleans from those stores and Costco.  Hopefully others do too, because they do get rid of some very nice stuff, from baked goods to dairy to produce, and even meats!
Maybe if we quit burning food via ethanol subsidies and gasoline requirements, we could solve several problems at once, caused, of course, by government programs.
"My" food budget doesn't go as far as it did in the past. Neither does my gas money. Maybe it's time to send some of the food bank workers out to canvas stores and work out the liability issues standing between them and donations. If "some" of the stores and restaurants can donate--that means it's feasible and being done.
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Charity is good, but giving 'til it hurts shouldn't be literal when so many of us are just a paycheck away from the foodbank ourselves.
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Charity is something you have to want to do. I know people on fixed incomes of $600 a month who find an extra $10 to donate a box of cereal and a jar of peanut butter to food banks. It can be done, and besides, if we, the neighbors of those in need, can't help them out, who else will? According to certain politicians, and their supporters, 'entitlements' should not be part of the government's job. So, if not you and I, who?
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@Wickedwitch Where I live, if you are on a fixed income, you don't always have a vehicle and are dependent upon the closest store which are all higher than the major stores. I don't know whether you think that's high or low--it doesn't really matter, it was the idea behind the fact that even low income people can feel they can contribute to those in need, and many do just that. Charity begins with each one of us, but only if you want to help your neighbors.