BOISE, Idaho — As you can imagine, The Idaho Foodbank has seen a massive spike in the number of people being food insecure over the last few months. Food banks across Idaho saw anywhere from a 10 to 30 percent increase in demand at the peak of the shutdown.
As the epicenter for the outbreak, Blaine County reported a 300 percent jump in people who needed food assistance. The Idaho Foodbank created a crisis communication unit to keep in contact with their hundreds of partners in Idaho who work to keep people fed.
"For us, we are really monitoring the unemployment rate. That's what's driving the food insecurity levels in the state of Idaho. So as we start to come into the reopen plan and people are able to get back to work and can come out of any debt they may have incurred while on unemployment, we are hoping we will start to see some of those food insecurity numbers come down as well," said Karen Vauk, The Idaho Foodbank president.
The Foodbank needs cash to help buy food for Idahoans facing hunger. So here is how we can help right now. Idaho News 6, with the help of the Scripps Howard Foundation, offered to match your donations up to $12,000, but you crushed our goal for the week in just one day. We thank you because today, we have surpassed $13,000.
While our match funding is exhausted, the need is still there. We will leave our virtual drive active through the end of the week, and we encourage you to give if you have the means. Please help us help our neighbors, click here to donate.
