LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More families in Louisville and surrounding counties are turning to food banks for help as Dare to Care says demand for assistance is at an all-time high.
The food bank says it has received two million fewer pounds of food from the federal government compared with this time last year. At the same time, it says more than 200,000 people are food insecure across its 13-county service area, a 62% increase since 2021.
“People who have never imagined that they would need the support and help are now standing in the lines, because their paychecks simply are not going far enough to cover the cost,” said Dare to Care CEO Vincent James.
Disabled Army veteran Albert Neighbors said he and his family began relying on food assistance about a year and a half ago.
“You know, I have a wife and my daughter and my two grandchildren who live with me. And at times it gets a little rough,” Neighbors said.
Thanks to the food bank, he says he’s in a much better place now.
“They’ve helped me in a lot of ways, you know, because there were times that I did not know where I was going to get anything to eat,” Neighbors said
Community distribution sites in Louisville are seeing first hand what the new data shows.
Jayy Gaines with Miracle Temple of Deliverance in west Louisville says her church gives out enough food to help about 15 to 20 families each month. She adds that number has continued to rise.
“In the beginning, as we started it was a few. Now in present, it has increased a lot,” Gaines said.
Dare to Care attributes the increased need in part to the rising cost of food and other necessities. With changes to SNAP made at the federal level, the food bank expects food insecurity to continue rising.
