The Gainesville Food Bank that feeds much of North Central Florida is taking in as little as a third of what they usually get. Which means they can't distribute as much food to area food pantries. More people are in need of food and there's less of it coming in.
Some who rely on their pantry don't even want to imagine what they would do with out the help. Pantries like the one in Gilchrist County get their food supply from the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank in Gainesville, which gets their shipments from USDA. As a result, the founder of one food pantry is digging into his own pockets.
Gilchrist County Director Rick Weder says, "we're up probably seven, eight hundred percent over what we were last year at the number or people we are serving"
The director of the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank says she needs the community's help to continue feeding the needy of North Central Florida. As for Rick Weder, he requested additional funding from Gilchrist County, but was turned down, until they saw this report. The chairman of The Gilchrist County Commission told Weder they will be granting his request for additional funding.