Dear Friends of the Food Bank,
I’ve been asked how things are going at the Food Bank – and I can tell you, the current economic trends dramatically affecting our community – are having a serious impact on the Food Bank. This is not a year like any other we have seen before.
Although we have seen a modest increase in food donations compared to the same time last year, I can tell you it is not enough. And, while financial donations are tracking about the same as last year, I can tell you – it will not be enough.
We are being challenged in ways we could not have anticipated. Food is going out the door much faster than it is coming in. And the food is going to families that have never relied on charity before.
We’ve all seen the news; businesses are closing, banks are not lending, the price of food and gas have hit everyone’s pocketbook – and I know – many of us are running our household budgets lean and mean.
Just the other day, I was discussing these challenges with a colleague – a woman who spends her days providing for families in need. Her husband had lost his job a number of months ago. Suddenly, a family, who is not necessarily in dire need, is taking steps to cut expenses. No more dry cleaning, no more dinners out, the frivolities are over. While out of work her husband finds he has time to do many things. He can do the landscaping, the housecleaning, the shopping, and the laundry. Their family is cutting back – just so they can get by. It makes sense.
But the housekeeper just lost a client. So did the landscaper. So did the dry cleaner. So did the waitress, the chef, the manicurist, the shopkeeper. As more and more of us cut back – it affects more and more of our neighbors.
As business after business closes… more and more of our neighbors are finding themselves out of work.
Our neighbors are losing their jobs. Our neighbors are losing their homes. Many of our neighbors are losing hope.
We usually think of having a home, a job, a car and some spending money as a right – but today, we’re the lucky ones.
We must work together – as a nation, as a state – as a community – to provide for our neighbors in need. This year is different. It’s not just those who live in poverty we must help – it’s not just children and the elderly – this year, it’s our neighbor. We have to do this together. It is for the good of our neighborhoods and our communities.
I ask you to do one thing. Take a moment now to consider what our community would look like if St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance could not provide the food that hundreds of Arizona agencies rely on.
Especially if the cities, churches and shelters we serve could not deliver meals for our hungry neighbors.
If our neighbors truly were out of hope.
We will do the best we can. We will do ALL we can – and we hope it will be enough. But we can’t do it—without your help. Please go to our web site and make a donation.
Thank you,
Terry Shannon
President & CEO
St. Mary’s Food Bank
tpshannon@firstfoodbank.org
The Daily Platter 
