Updated 8/17/2009 11:59:45 PM
ATLANTA, Ga. -- One hundred million dollars of federal stimulus money is buying multiple tons of "stimulus food" for the increasing numbers of people using food banks across the country; the stimulus money increases by 40 percent the U. S. Department of Agriculture's annual, $250 Million worth of grants to food banks.
"It's really been a Godsend for us," said the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Atlanta Community Food Bank, Bill Bolling.
On Monday, Bolling gave U. S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, (R) GA, a first-hand look at what the extra money is buying -- pallets piled floor to ceiling with fresh food such as eggs, fruits and vegetables, along with cheese and canned goods, which the food bank is distributing to families almost as fast as the food arrives.
"A lot of this is surplus food, maybe some cheese and other things," said Chambliss, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, "but the bulk of this food that he's getting in now is really fresh, whether it's eggs or fresh peaches or other fruits and vegetables. This is food that doesn't normally come into this food bank."
Chambliss voted against the Democrats' stimulus program that passed in February, advocating a different stimulus program to target job creation that he said could be done without massive increases in deficits and debt. But he's been a long-time advocate and supporter of the food banks, and of federal money helping food banks through the USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"We're, in fact, above the national average," Chambliss said of Georgia's unemployment rate. "And here we've got school starting, so it's even more important to make sure that children have the right kind of nourishment.... I'm very pleased that the government continues to play a key role, here, from the standpoint of providing food."
The Atlanta Community Food Bank received 830,000 lbs. of food from the USDA stimulus program in June, July and August. That's an increase of roughly 10 to 15 percent above what the food bank usually receives from private donors such as individuals and charities, and from the federal government, during the slow summer months.
And as Georgia's unemployment rate has increased, the need for food from the food bank has increased "over 20 percent," Bolling said. "Back in April we had an increase of over 50 percent. So, we're seeing a higher demand, and we expect it to be that way, probably, for another 18 to 24 months," depending on what happens to Georgia's unemployment rate .
It's high demand that will outlast this one-time "Godsend."
"We're getting needy families fed this summer, and we'll do it through the fall," Bolling said.
