The food bank in Dayton served more than 700 families today at a food drive event in Montgomery County.
News Center 7’s Mason Fletcher talked to organizers about the increase in demand for food.
More than 1,000 people moved through the lines at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds on Thursday. The Food Bank in Dayton worked with their partners to fight food insecurity in the Miami Valley.
The event started at 10 am and lasted till noon. The Food Bank passed out all kinds of essential grocery items.
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Amber Wright with The Food Bank said, “We are passing out chicken drumsticks, a variety of fresh produce, and some other staple items free of charge.”
It’s one of their many pop-up food distributions for the year, and they handed out a lot of it.
Sade Oyeyemi with The Food Bank said, “We can serve anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 families today.”
Organizers said they have seen food insecurity on the rise for our region, especially in the last few years. They said a recent study from May found that more than 110,000 people are food insecure in the Miami Valley.
“Out of that, over 36,000 of them were children,” Wright said.
She said more people are feeling the pressure of constantly rising prices on everything, including basic essentials.
“A lot of families have back-to-school shopping as well. So, those things really add up. And we’re hoping that by sending people home with a car loaded with groceries, we can help ease the pressure a little bit,” Wright said.
She said a lot of people have an idea of what hunger looks like in the community, but the reality is not how it seems.
“The truth is, we see people coming through our lines at all levels. Some people make just enough to not qualify for SNAP assistance, but their wages aren’t enough to keep pace with inflation or cover all their basic necessities,” Wright said.
For a $1.00 donation, you can provide four meals for a family in need.
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