Food Banks "Desperate" for Supplies

Yesterday, KEYE-TV Austin kicked off a local food drive for the Capital Area Food Bank with a special report on the diminishing supplies squeezing every link on the emergency food chain.

“It’s just unbelievable the amount of people that come in,” said Bob Craddock, co-director of a pantry supplied by the Food Bank.

Food Bank CEO David Davenport agreed, pointing out that Austin feeding agencies are experiencing 20-30% growth in their normal clientele, most of whom are not homeless (85%) and half of whom (47%) are working.

“A lot of the families that our pantries and soup kitchens are seeing are first time families,” said Kerri Qunell of the Food Bank. “They’ve never had to rely on emergency food assistance before.”