Jim Hodges , right, and his mother Vermell Hodges, 83, pick up fruits and vegetables and other staples at the Samoa Independent Church in Lemon Grove. The church is a distribution center for the San Diego Food Bank. (Photo: David Brooks U-T)
Layoffs, bankruptcies and other economic woes are leading causes
By Janine Zúñiga / UNION-TRIBUNE / August 28, 2010
Layoffs, bankruptcies and other effects of the naggingly ailing economy are leading a record number of county residents to seek out donated food, the county’s leading food-relief organization reported Friday.
The San Diego Food Bank said its distributions are at an all-time high. In the just-completed fiscal year, the 33-year-old nonprofit group handed out 15.3 million pounds of food, a 56 percent increase from the 9.1 million pounds two years earlier.
The soaring demand may not end soon, said Mitch Mitchell, chairman of the Food Bank.
“When I took over in 2006, we were providing food to 200,000 people per month,” Mitchell said. “Now, we provide food for 340,000 people per month and we are expecting our lines to continue to grow. People are running out of savings, foreclosures are growing, gasoline prices are rising.”
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Record need
The San Diego Food Bank said it’s distributing the most food in its 33-year history – 15.3 million pounds in the 2010 fiscal year, a 56 percent increase from two years ago. Cities with the biggest distribution increases are:
City / Increase in %
Lemon Grove / 436%
Vista / 368%
Imperial Beach / 234%
Spring Valley / 219%
Ramona / 80%
San Diego / 72%
San Marcos / 61%
Jacumba / 55%
National City / 52%
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