Food bank sees jump in demand

Soaring prices for gasoline and food have resulted in unprecedented demand for free food at the downtown Thurston County Food Bank and its 11 satellite offices, the organization's executive director said this week.

The number of individuals seeking help increased 27 percent to more than 17,000 in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, food bank executive director Robert Coit said. The number of households seeking help rose 28 percent to more than 7,000, he said.

About 275 residents visit the food bank daily, Coit said.

Surging local and worldwide demand for food also has meant a shortage in certain food donations, he said.

The 35-year-old organization is limiting rice to one bag per household, and because more bakeries are watching expenses, the food bank has received fewer day-old bread donations, Coit said.

"I never thought we would not have day-old bread, and who would've thought that you couldn't buy rice?" he said. "Those things are unprecedented."

Most of the food at the bank has been donated or purchased with cash donations, he added.

While donations rose 10 percent in the first quarter, the amount was easily outpaced by demand, food bank data show.

Customers can shop at the food bank up to 12 times a year — or more if they receive a referral from a social-service organization, Coit said.

On Wednesday, food bank customers lined up early at the downtown Olympia location.

Matt Begley of Olympia said he was getting food there for the third time in the past month. Begley, who is unemployed, said he can't afford food or gas and doesn't know what he would do without the food bank.

"Even TV dinners are more expensive," he said.

Grace Dufoe of Olympia said she tries to make the money from her Social Security checks last longer by going to the food bank.

"Without the food bank, I basically don't eat," she said.

Patricia Kunkle of Olympia, a single mother of three, said she has been going to the food bank for six months. Kunkle said she travels a lot as a caregiver, but her employer reimburses her for fuel only once a month.

Kunkle said she gets food that lasts her family about two weeks.

"The other two weeks are a struggle," she said.