COVID-19 Relief Efforts Continue

COVID-19 Relief Efforts Continue

As millions of Americans lost their jobs to closures and layoffs at the start of the pandemic, demand spiked overnight at emergency food providers across the nation. What’s more alarming, many of the families seeking help were facing hunger for the first time. They had never imagined going to a community pantry before.

Today, as we look back over the last 18 months, it’s easy to feel like the worst is behind us. Vaccines are here. Businesses are reopening, and more people are back to work. Employers have more open positions than they’re able to fill.

But lines at food banks aren’t getting any shorter.

Employers are hiring, but many available jobs are low wage. People have lost any savings they might have had before the pandemic. And as they try to recover, get out of debt, and find their way back to financial security, food is sometimes a negotiable expense.

More than a quarter of a million meals are being provided every day to the six-county service area; roughly double the daily distribution before the crisis hit.

Second Harvest’s long-term priorities include:

• Continuing to distribute meals at an elevated pace, especially for people relying on food assistance for the very first time.
• Piloting new programs to help reach our neighbors who are most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
• Advocating for state support to help food banks and our partners distribute more meals, especially fresh produce.
• Educating the community to share information and destigmatize seeking food assistance.
• View strategic plan with COVID updates.
• Stewardship of resources in the times of COVID-19/Economic Recession.

We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of community support throughout the past year.

It is the trust and generosity of donors, like you, that has enabled the aggressive scale of relief efforts and continued fight against hunger.   But the work is far from complete. Millions of your neighbors still struggle to access the nourishment of a meal, with all signs pointing towards needs increasing in the months to come. At the same time, expenses continue to rise due to COVID-related restrictions and logistical challenges.

Your generosity has made an incredible difference in the past and we hope you will continue to partner with us to ensure hope remains for those who struggle to access food. Thank you for trusting us with this important work and joining us in the fight against hunger.

Need Help

If you are in need of food assistance, please visit our online food locator to find a list of feeding partners near you. Click here to read frequently asked food assistance questions. Please make sure to call before heading to the distribution, to make sure that the hours or location has not changed. If you need assistance during the weekend, please call United Way's 2-1-1.

How To Help

Recovering from the pandemic is going to be a marathon not a sprint. And it will take more than just nonprofits, public officials, and activists: We’ll need the whole community to come together and work toward change.

Can you help to make sure that our neighbors can access food and hope in their moment of greatest need? Your $10 gift will provide 40 meals.

Coronavirus Updates

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