Bank of America – Meals Bank Of Iowa CEO Says Meals Insecurity Has Doubled Throughout Pandemic – KIWARadio.com

Statewide Iowa — The most recent information from Iowa Workforce Improvement reveals greater than 9,400 Iowa staff filed a brand new declare for unemployment advantages final week.

Meals Bank of Iowa president and CEO Michelle E-book says meals pantries and feeding packages are serving way more Iowans this 12 months in comparison with final.

(as mentioned) “I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a challenging year,” E-book says. “…Food insecurity has doubled since March of 2020, tripled for households with children.”

There are greater than a thousand meals pantries in Iowa, serving all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

(as mentioned) “There are six Feeding America food banks that source government, free and reduced cost food,” E-book says. “We keep it safe….Our pantry volunteers are working hard and smart to make sure that no person in their community be hungry.”

This spring, the governor authorized spending six million {dollars} in federal pandemic reduction cash to assist meals pantries purchase extra meals and, for some, to purchase extra refrigeration models.

(as mentioned) “A legion of churches under the banners of HelpDSM and Project Zume has stepped up and offered us their facilities, their volunteers and their organizational skills,” she says, “to help us distribute more food in metro Des Moines and across the entire state.”

Challenge Zume volunteers are making house deliveries in 9 central Iowa counties to frail aged and different Iowans who can not make the journey to a meals pantry. Many college districts function feeding packages as effectively.