While those in charge of emergency food assistance for Charlottesville's neediest citizens are experiencing unparalleled demand for their services, officials at the city's food banks and soup kitchens say they are meeting the demand.
The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network, which includes the Thomas Jefferson Area Food Bank serving Charlottesville and surrounding counties, has seen a 25 percent increase in food requests each of the last two years, and this year's numbers should prove similar, said Sarah Althoff, Charlottesville area supervisor for the Thomas Jefferson Area Food Bank.
Althoff said the increase is due to a number of factors, including recent layoffs at local manufacturers and Hurricane Isabel, which caused needy citizens to lose much of their perishable food because of power outages.
Last year, the food bank network distributed eight million pounds of food and it is expected nine million pounds of food will be distributed this year. The food bank would require 30 million pounds of food for distribution to meet all the existing demand.
"There's still a big gap there in terms of food need and what we're able to do," Althoff said.
The entire network served about 60,000 people last year and distributed nearly two million pounds of food from its Charlottesville food bank.
Luckily, Althoff said, the increase in demand for food has corresponded with local philanthropists stepping up to the plate to support the network with donations of food and money.
"We're very fortunate to be in a community that responds so generously in time of need," she said.
Charlottesville's Christ Episcopal Church, which operates its "Loaves and Fishes" soup kitchen for lunch on Tuesdays, similarly has seen an increase in the number of people seeking food this fall, the Rev. Brian Vander Well said.
"On average, we see anywhere from 50 to 70 [diners] on a Tuesday and I think on a typical Tuesday [now] we're on the upper end of that number," Vander Well said. "We rarely see anything under 60 in terms of the number of meals we're serving."
Salvation Army Shelter Director David Gilbert said the Salvation Army's soup kitchen, which serves breakfast and dinner daily and lunch on weekends, only has seen a marginal increase in diners this year from last, when 54,783 meals were served.
"I think between last year and this year we're going to see a couple thousand up, but nothing spectacular," Gilbert said. "I'd say we're going to cross the 60,000 mark this year."
The demand for food assistance increases every year during the winter months as already financially strained families struggle to pay higher utility bills, according to Althoff.
"We see that a lot of working families and individuals are having to make those choices between paying the rent and buying food," she said. "We understand that the need is growing for working families."
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