Bare bank blues
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 7 years, 11 months AGO
Courtesy photo The food bank is requesting assistance from the community to help feed a growing population of those in need. Bring donations to the food bank, 4144 W. Industrial Loop, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Courtesy photo The CAP Food Bank needs the community's help to stock its shelves and fill its pantry. Donations are down right now but the need is up.
Courtesy photo Empty food bank shelves and bins are indicative of a supply-demand imbalance. The demand is growing, but donations are at a low point right now.
Courtesy photo Bare shelves are a common sight at the CAP Coeur d'Alene Food Bank right now. The food bank is in need of non-perishable food items such as tuna, canned beans, ready-to-eat soup and boxed pastas and rice.
By DEVIN HEILMAN
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — "Barely hanging on."
That’s how Community Action Partnership Coeur d'Alene Food Bank manager Nicol Barnes described her organization’s status Friday while faced with a near-empty facility.
"This week's been really low on getting donations from grocery stores," Barnes said. "What we do get is flying off the shelves really quickly."
The food bank is in dire need of donations to feed a growing population of clients. Barnes said the need has increased from a year ago, and this harsh winter isn't helping.
"We've had a really hard winter," she said. "People's utility bills have been higher because it's so cold. We have more people in the area. It's just a combination of factors."
Barnes said the food bank always does well during the holidays, but donations taper off about this time of year. The influx of requests for emergency food boxes has also drained the inventory.
"Earlier today, our walk-in was literally completely empty," she said. "There was not a single thing in there. It was completely bare."
Items needed are non-perishables including condensed/ready-to-eat soup, canned beans/chili, boxed sides such as pasta and rice, canned fruit and canned tuna.
"It's just a hard time of year for families because the holidays are over and oftentimes people put aside money for holiday time and then they use it, making those few months between winter and summer tough," Barnes said. "Now we're really low on some of the staples that we put in our emergency food boxes. We're not completely empty yet, but we're getting pretty low."
The CAP Food Bank serves about 1,000 people and distributes nearly 25,000 pounds of food in the community each week.
To help stock the pantry shelves, bring non-expired donations to CAP Food Bank at 4144 W. Industrial Loop in Coeur d'Alene between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Info: 664-8586 or www.idahocommunityaction.org/partnerships/partnershipscap
