National Food Bank Day shines spotlight on rising food insecurity in the Coachella Valley
Friday marked National Food Bank Day, a day to honor the volunteers and food bank workers helping to end food insecurity.
Food banks are a critical resource in our desert cities. According to Find Food Bank about 1 in 6 people experience food insecurity here in the Coachella Valley.
People are encouraged to participate in National Food Bank Day by volunteering, donating or by spreading awareness.
The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert already helps fulfill a desperate need for people throughout the valley facing food insecurity.
"We're creating well over 600 bags every single week," said Food Security Director at The Center, Charles Huff.
Starting November first The Center will be able to provide even more resources with the opening of their new food bank that’s going to be located off of Alejo Road.
"As we grow, there's nowhere for us to go in this particular space," said Huff. "That bigger space is going to be wonderful. We can then get more volunteers to help us. It'll be better traffic flow, better even for us to get our delivery."
Workers at The Center hope a new food bank will allow for new client services, like having a community health worker at every single distribution.
"Any new people coming in, we'll screen them, make them part of the food bank, but then we'll find out, what else do they need? Are there other things that have mitigated them coming to the food bank," said Huff.
The Center reports that they served a little more than 2,500 people in the months of July and August alone.
On the East side of the valley, Find Food Bank serves as a partner agency and distributor for The Center in Palm Springs.
On this National Food Bank day Find Food Bank is calling for help from volunteers.
"Volunteers are extremely crucial for our operations. Without them, we wouldn't be able to pack and sort the food in our warehouse," said Yolanda Moreno, with Find Food Bank.
Find Food Bank workers say they lose about 60 percent of their volunteers in the summertime leaving vulnerable communities in need.
"The need in our remote areas is greater. Volunteers are needed in places such as Sky Valley, Thermal, Mecca," said Moreno.
Anyone interested in volunteering at Find Food Bank can help during a variety of shifts Monday through Friday. You can find the full schedule here, findfoodbank.volunteerhub.com
