“Here at The Greater Cleveland Food Bank, we are still serving more people today, than we were before the recession and the holidays are a particularly busy time,” said Kristin Warzocha President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank,
Warzocha said demand for food is higher than ever.
“Community support is needed like never before,” Warzocha said.
Demand for nutritious food goes up this time of year, as kids go on winter break and don’t get a school lunch.
Volunteers pack bags of food for children who go to the Boy and Girls Club after school.
They’ll pack even more bags during winter break.
“We have almost a hundred partners who serve children, low income children when they’re out of school, so summer is a very busy time for those partners making sure kids have access to the food they need, and the holidays are as well,” Warzocha said.
One in three people in Cleveland live in poverty, many of them children.
The numbers of hot meals the food bank’s kitchen puts out everyday is remarkable.
“In our kitchen we distribute anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 meals per day, depending or not on whether school is out,” Warzocha said.
Financial donations help the food bank to buy bulk for to store in their warehouse.
Warzocha said many people are working low paying jobs or part time jobs and now the need for food goes beyond Cleveland.
“Unfortunately Cleveland has one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation, we’re also seeing more and more need in suburbs like Cleveland Heights, Warrensville Heights and Lakewood and even beyond that, than we’ve seen in the past,” Warzocha said.
If you would like to learn more about how to help, visit their website.
