(Yesterday) I went to my local food bank today because I'd heard that most food banks were being overwhelmed due to the shutdown. I dropped off some eggs and wanted to speak with the food bank manager to see if he needed anything specific. I'm the person who makes posts about the St. Vincent de Paul conference/main office and food bank and amplify/relay information about the thrift store on the conference Facebook page. The food bank doesn't actually do social media. The office and store do most of the talking.
Anyway, nobody could tell me exactly where he was because he was out of his office "in the back area." That turned out to be in the side area where the conexes are. He and a small group of workers were shifting some of the items and moving things into the food bank but the shelves looked fairly...sparse...already.
He told me that he knew that people were not going to get their SNAP/EBT payments on 1 November and that WIC wouldn't be paid either. Usually people in the military do not come down to the food bank for assistance. It's handled on post, but with the shutdown, he expects them to come to the food bank, too.
(Today) I dropped off some of my older cans of tuna. I know that they'll be eaten fairly quickly, so I'm not worried about expiration dates. I think I bought them in July of this year and they have an expiration/best buy date of 2026 or 2027.
The food bank director looked...dejected. I asked if he'd considered doing an interview with a local Facebook channel to explain the need and what the food bank is doing. He said he'd consider it. I told him I'd already brought up the idea with the president of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference. We'll see what follows.
I'll do some more searching in my pantry to see if there's anything I can offer before I hit some stores for more food. Nothing expired or open.
