With more families facing food insecurity nationwide, local food banks are seeing the same trends.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly all types of households recently saw food insecurity increase. The Estero Bay Kindness Coalition is currently serving around 184 families along the Northern San Luis Obispo County Coast, up from last year’s numbers.
“We have seen it. It’s been a steady spike. I think a year ago at this time we were probably at about 140-145 families. We’re progressively going up all the time," said Bobby DeLancellotti, Estero Bay Kindness Coalition founder and executive director.
Around 120 people are currently volunteering at the food bank in Morro Bay packing bags of food to deliver to families in need.
“Some of my own customers, it’s just getting tough to make rent, the fuel prices and all that stuff. At the end of the month, there’s just not enough money in the bank. Many of them have children and the children need to have food to be able to go to school, to be able to learn. It’s very important," said Michael Wolfe.
Wolfe, who owns the Avocado Shack in Morro Bay, donated part of his space to the Estero Bay Kindness Coalition so the organization could have more room without the added cost.
“About a third of our families are Spanish-speaking. Two-thirds of them are working families, single moms, single families, single dads, people that have two incomes and just really having a difficult time making ends meet with the price of rent and how it is here. It’s an incredibly challenging time for families right now,” DeLancellotti said.
Experts say the loss of federal COVID-19 pandemic assistance and the rising costs of goods have played a role in food insecurity increasing.
The Estero Bay Kindness Coalition is always looking for volunteers and food donations to help expand its efforts to those in the community. Click here for their website.
