With food production and supply more global than ever, food banks end up being even more subject than the average consumer to fluctuations in domestic and world markets.
The latest event to drive up food prices for the foreseeable future is the drought in the Midwest. After the hottest July since 1936, corn production in the U.S will drop 13 percent.
By Aug. 5, 69 percent of the Midwest had moderate to exceptional drought. Corn prices reached an all time high of $8.49 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Since corn has become the most prevalent and universal ingredient in processed foods of all kinds (and that goes way beyond just snacks), this is bad news for consumers at all purchase levels. Check your labels — corn or some form of it is in almost everything. Livestock and milk-product prices will rise to cover increased feed costs.
The overdependence and utilization of corn as an ingredient mean a fluctuation like this has a generalized effect on all food prices. Bottom line is it will cost more to operate ShareNet in 2012-13.
Also affecting food banks’ bottom line and ability to serve is the recent reduction of food stamp benefits to legal immigrants. The budget shortfall caused the 2012 Legislature to cut the state’s Food Assistance for Legal Immigrants program, reducing benefits from $228 a month to $114 as of July 1. The reality is that cost is transferred elsewhere, most at the doors of food banks.
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The kids don’t want to hear it yet, and who would when you’re a kid in Western Washington. with the fastest summers in the lower 48.
At ShareNet, our thoughts have, by necessity, already turned to the start of the 2012-2013 school year.
Our Back to School Supplies Event takes lots of work and planning, the contribution of many hands, and the synthesis of many threads to be successful. Shortly after that, our Food to Grow On program for students will resume after a brief summer break.
The 2012 Back to School Supplies event was Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to noon at Bayside Community Church. The location was a change this year; the event is usually held onsite at ShareNet, but that has become impractical for storage and logistical reasons.
Back to School Supplies 2012 was organized by Kingston Alive Church and spearheaded by their members, Carol and Ted Anderson. Kingston Alive utilizes a house church model and their members are heavily involved in community service projects. Talk to anyone in the community and more than likely Carol and Ted and members of their group have helped them at some point. They even helped frame and prepare our site before we first occupied it in 2007. A lot of people in the community contributed to this event. including Pat Bennett-Forman, Wendy Armstrong, Kingston Kiwanis Club, Caring Clowns International, Kingston Rotary Club, Kitsap Bank, Kitsap Credit Union, Columbia Bank, Rite Aid, Kingston IGA, Windermere Realty and Kingston Library. About 130 kids may not be smiling about returning to school, but they’ll at least have the right tools.
The timing of writing about the event is tricky, because by publication date of this article advance sign-ups for the packed backpacks will be closed, the majority of the donations will have been collected, and the packing event will have already taken place.
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Kingston Farm & Garden Co-op’s Giving Garden continues to work really hard for folks in need, already having donated more than 500 pounds of fresh, beautiful produce so far in 2012 — even more remarkable when you consider the constraints on our growing season. Their 2011 total was 700 pounds.
Our clients clamor for this produce, and it is cleared out of our coolers in no time flat after delivery.
— Mark Ince is executive director of ShareNet. Contact him at sharenetdirector@centurytel.net.
