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SALT LAKE CITY — The holiday season is coming up which means that the Utah Food Bank will be hosting their annual food drive to help feed the hungry.
The Utah Food Bank kicked off the annual Holiday Food Drive on Monday and it will run through Jan. 15, 2013. It hopes to raise 2.5 million pounds of food with part of that as 23,000 turkeys for the holidays. Some of the donations will go to Hildegarde's Food Pantry in Salt Lake City which is normally extremely full of people in need.
Workers say it's not easy keeping up with the demand.
Natalie Angles is visting Salt Lake City from Las Vegas. When she's in town, she volunteers at Hildegarde's Food Pantry.
"When I see them, I feel like they're ordinary people and we all need help once in a while," Angles said.
Angles knows how far this food can go. In 2009, she lost her job as a dispatcher and her mom got laid off as well. The women, who volunteered at the pantry, suddenly found themselves as recipients.
"When I see them, I feel like they're ordinary people and we all need help once in a while." Natalie Angles
"Think about it," Angles said. "A gallon of milk is three dollars, so that three dollars went to gas or the light bill."
Hildegarde's Food Pantry normally feeds about 250 people each day. But donations are beginning to fall short.
"It's been hard this year," said assistant manager, Joshua Reyes. "It's been really hard. I have a lot of clients that work in companies. They still have a job, but it's a part time job. They don't have the hours they used to."
The pantry's assistant manager says, it's the slowest it's been in his three years on the job. And the need is rising. There are more mouths to feed, especially kids. As the holidays near, the concern is growing.
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Hundreds of cans, boxes, and bags of food is lining the sidewalks of downtown Salt Lake Friday, in an effort to beat hunger.The Utah Food Bank, which partners with 129 pantries like Hildegard's says that this time of year is always challenging. Inventory runs low after the summer months, when kids are out of school and stop receiving meals there.
This year, their shelves are unusually low. In addition to more kids, there are also more elderly to feed. Areas in the rural part of the state are struggling to keep up.
"This year has been a little sobering for us in that we finally are seeing the families that are really starting to be impacted the most," said Utah Food Bank employee, Ginette Bott.
Angles and her mom used to be one of those struggling families. She says that pantries like Hildegards can make a difference for people trying to get back on their feet.
In 2011, 500 people went to Hildegard's Food Pantry for a Thanksgiving turkey. They ran out. Now they are asking the public for donations as is the Utah Food Bank. Another reason this holiday giving season is so important is because people may see the effects of the drought in six to 10 months with higher food prices.
