Foodbanks are paying more for higher demand staple crops.

Keith Carls, KCOY Central Coast News Reporter, KeithCarls@kcoy.com

POSTED: 05:14 PM PDT Apr 16, 2014 UPDATED: 10:27 AM PDT Apr 17, 2014

Drought Squeezing Local Foodbanks

Link to Video: http://www.keyt.com/news/drought-squeezing-local-foodbanks/25522730

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. –

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County helps those who need help putting food on the table.

“The majority of people who we serve are working”, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County CEO Eric Talkin told reporters at the Foodbank warehouse in Santa Maria,  “often people think that the Foodbank provides to homeless people, really they are only about 8 percent of who we serve, the rest are people that are trying to get a job or who are working, so it’s a very challenging environment and people are trying to survive and stay healthy.”

The immediate impact of the ongoing drought in California is starting to be felt throughout the state including front line social safety network agencies like Foodbanks.

“The drought is already having a serious affect on our ability to afford and provide fresh produce to hungry people and to our member network of 300-plus programs and agencies in the county”, Talkin says.

Foodbanks are now having to compete with others in the food industry for staple crops like onions, potatoes, carrots and corn that are down in production due to the drought.

“The largest growing sector is children and youth services”, says Jamie Nichols of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, “now these are local Boys and Girls Clubs, local YMCA’s, these are programs that are increasingly requesting and wanting more and more produce so this demand for produce goes up with our member agencies our supply is becoming harder and harder to secure both within the county and throughout the state.”

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County welcomes donations of fresh produce.

But it says cash donations are what’s really needed to help it weather the tough economic climate of the ongoing drought.

http://www.keyt.com/news/drought-squeezing-local-foodbanks/25522730

Only a quarter of the shelves full at Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
Tracy Lehr, KEYT NewsChannel 3 Reporter, tracy@keyt.com
POSTED: 10:20 PM PST Feb 13, 2014 UPDATED: 10:24 AM PST Feb 14, 2014

Foodbanks Impacted by Drought

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is feeling the impact of the ongoing drought.

The nonprofit is paying more for produce and seeing a drought in donations.

About 3/4 of the shelves in the cooler are empty.

Jamie Nichols, the director of operations, said more people are in need of food services.  Nichols said farmers in need of water for crops are not expected to plant as many next season. That means less work for farm workers.

President Obama plans to stop in Fresno Friday to talk about tackling the drought.

Foodbank workers hope the administration will come up with ways to help.

http://www.keyt.com/news/california/foodbanks-affected-by-drought/64808471