The economy is better. The stock market is up. Unemployment is down
But more Missourians are relying on Missouri’s food pantries and soup kitchens—so much so that food bank distribution set a record last year of 117,007,189 pounds of food, a 23% jump in quantity from 2012..
Executive Director Scott Baker with the Missouri Food Bank Association says the USDA ranks Missouri number two in the nation for “very low food security.”
He says the added demand coupled with shrinking donated supplies has forced food service agencies throughout the state to raise eight to ten-million dollars to pay for food and transportation costs.
He says more people are seeking help from food banks for longer periods than in the past. And he says Congressionally-mandated cuts in the food stamp program will only increase the burden on food bank programs.