CLA: Food Bank Levels Down

I ran across an interesting tidbit in the summer issue of Outcomes (the magazine of the Christian Leadership Alliance, of which many Mission staff is a member).

It seems food banks across the country are facing big shortages; indeed, as many as 72 percent are either not meeting the need in their community or are decreasing the amount they give out to each family.

There are two causes of this, the CLA is reporting: one, food prices continue to be at historically high levels. Guess what No. 2 is? Yep, you guessed it. The economy. More and more middle-class families seeking assistance means a greater strain on food banks which have been used to stable levels of need in recent years. Now that the need has spiked, the amount in food bank warehouses have gone down.

Some are clamoring for Congress to step in and throw some stimulus money at the problem. We can't speak for other organizations which are repsonsible to their boards and God for confronting issues as they see them. Here at Union Mission, we don't accept government money.

Don't misunderstand. No one here is saying taking federal assistance is a bad thing. Again, other organizations must do what they deem necessary. But we've found that our ministry is capable of making it through the provision of our individual and corporate donors.

Is that the right stance to take? Why or why not? Is there a one-size-fits-all solution to this kind of problem?

Thanks for reading, and we hope you'll share your thoughts either here or on our Facebook page.