- December 19, 2022
- Posted by: Bastion team
- Category: World News
Bay Area food bank makes a plea for financial donations
A Bay Area food bank that helps hundreds of thousands of people each month is in need of help. Monetary donations to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley are down considerably, according to its CEO. And if they don’t pick up soon, it could threaten the amount of service it’s able to provide.
A Bay Area food bank that helps hundreds of thousands of people each month is in need of help.
Monetary donations to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley are down considerably, according to its CEO Leslie Bacho. And if they don’t pick up soon, it could threaten the amount of service it’s able to provide.
Inflation is getting part of the blame.
Second Harvest says it’s now helping about 460,000 people each month, an 80% increase over pre-pandemic levels.
The number of people who need help had been declining since the peak of the pandemic, but it has started to rise again alongside high inflation.
And while the need is increasing, financial donations are going in the opposite direction – down 37% compared to two years ago, according to Bacho.
“The situation is very dire. This holiday season, I’ve been with Second Harvest for five years now and this is our most nerve-wracking holiday season yet.”
Bacho says a number of factors are at play.
“I think that it’s inflation…not being aware of the level of need in the community right now…I think it’s also the stock market and people just feeling like the economy, people…