Despite Stimulus Help, Food Bank Still in Need

Federal stimulus dollars have trickled down to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, but because of increased demand, even with the money, it still won't be enough to help feed the needy.

Saturday, August 15th 2009, 11:26 pm

By: News 9


By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Federal stimulus dollars have trickled down to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to help feed the needy, and the timing couldn't be better.

The stimulus money is coming in at a time when the food bank is seeing the need for their services more than ever before, so much so the food bank said even with the help, it still won't be enough.

"It's shocking to us. We have more food being distributed out than are actually bringing in," said Rodney Bivens, the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank. "All of our agencies are reporting anywhere from a 20 percent up to a 50 percent increase in demand since last year."

The busy distribution is why Bivens is torn. On one hand he's glad to hear he'll be able to hire additional employees and receive more food, but he's also disappointed to know the food won't last long.

"The demand continues to go up and the challenging part is having enough food to provide the people who need it now," Bivens said.

"The main thing people need is food and love and that's what this place is doing," said volunteer Alysa Hooper.

As a volunteer, Alysa Hooper has seen firsthand the food flying off the shelves and knows just how important the federal stimulus dollars are to the food bank.

"I hope it makes a difference. I hope people keep organized and use it to the best benefit," Hooper said.

While the federal stimulus dollars will be vital to food banks mission, the key to their success is still donations.

"People ask ‘How can I make a difference?' Well, if a million people donate a can it's almost a million pounds of food. That makes a difference," the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank's Executive Director said.

The food bank said the stimulus money will allow them to add six full time positions, and they should be getting somewhere in the range of 6 million pounds of food. But to understand the need right now, the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank said the millions of pounds of food the stimulus money will bring in will likely only last till October or November.

Learn more about how you can help the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank.

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