PEORIA, Ill. — The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on non-profit agencies nationwide.
Monica Scheuer, Executive Director of Midwest Food Bank, based in Bloomington, says they initially had trouble getting food, but issues with trucking those supplies still continues.
“The need for food went up, skyrocketed for a while, and now has leveled off. But, we know there are government programs supporting families, where they can go and get their own food, rather than relying on charitable food supplies…we just don’t know how long that’s going to last,” Scheuer said.
Trucking costs keep going up, due to a shortage of drivers. That’s a bigger problem for Midwest Food Banks right now.
Scheuer said many of their volunteer drivers haven’t returned due to COVID-19.
“When the pandemic hit, the very people that are the majority of our volunteers, the older, non-working or retired people, they’re the very ones that had to shelter. So, we’ve lost a lot of our volunteers,” Scheuer said.
Requests for food assistance between Thanksgiving and Christmas are always higher, Scheuer said, and this year is no exception.
One of the ways you can help is by making a monetary donation.
“For every one dollar that someone gives to the Midwest Food Bank, we can turn that into $30 worth of food. We have groups that come and volunteer, we have individuals…volunteers do everything here,” Scheuer said.
Scheuer adds, “We can definitely use that help around the holidays.”
The full interview with Scheuer.
For more information about Midwest Food Bank, click HERE.
