Food banks seek boost in donations to cover produce shortfall

Food banks seek boost in donations to cover produce shortfall

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20100420_Food_banks_seek_boost_in_donations_to_cover_produce_shortfall.html

By Alfred Lubrano

Inquirer Staff Writer
To ease the shortage of fruits and vegetables in area food pantries due to winter storms and the Chilean earthquake, the Food Bank of South Jersey on Monday appealed to local farmers to boost their donations.

"We're expecting donations from New Jersey farmers to help us," said Joe Njoroge, the Food Bank's chief operating officer.

The agency is hoping that it can aggressively accumulate large amounts of early crops such as squash, green beans, and asparagus to mitigate a 70 percent drop in produce this year.

The produce shortage will be felt by nearly all of the 65,000 people Philabundance serves per week, as well as the 11,900 people a week being given food by the Food Bank of South Jersey, agency officials said.

Njoroge said this was the earliest in the year that his agency had ever asked farmers for donations. But, he added, the Food Bank is scrambling to make up for shortfalls.

Similarly, Philabundance, the largest hunger-relief agency in the region, said its supplies of produce that it sends to pantries are down 45 percent from last year.

The produce that Philabundance disburses among its food pantries in the Delaware Valley is typically donated by fruit and vegetable growers, distributors, and wholesalers.

With prices so high, the companies that normally donate can't afford to do so now, causing the shortage, said Marlo DelSordo, a spokeswoman for the agency.

An alternative is for Philabundance and the Food Bank of South Jersey to use cash to buy produce.