Overwhelmed food pantries across the state say they’re having a hard time keeping their shelves stocked as demand has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.
Scott Young, Executive Director of Lincoln Food Bank, said increased unemployment in the state is causing a higher-than-normal demand while food distributors are under more pressure than ever.
"One of our big challenges right now in food security in the state of Nebraska is resources are going down while the need is going up," Young said. "The grocery stores, where we pick up so much product, they're moving everything they have and then some."
More than a thousand families showed up at a mobile food pantry at Fonner Park in Grand Island over the weekend. Brian Barks is the president and CEO of Food Bank for the Heartland, an organization that serves 77 counties across Nebraska.
"Rougly 70% of the product on a typical day is from the donated industry," Barks said. "With that greatly reduced because of consumer demand, those retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers just don't have the extra to give us. We are reliant now on purchasing food."
Barks says his food bank usually spends more than $70,000 a month to buy food. He says during the pandemic, that number could easily exceed $1 million a month to keep shelves stocked.
Young said the food they order could take 4-6 weeks to arrive, and the effects of the pandemic on food banks could last well into the summer.
Food pantry leaders say they welcome donations of either food or money. Here are several food banks and organizations that coordinate food security efforts in Nebraska: