It never fails... when a hurricane approaches any part of the gulf coast, we all sit up and take notice. And that is happening today at the Bay Area Food Bank, based here in Mobile. That's especially true for David Reaney, the food ban's director.
"I just got off of the Florida Food Bank Association conference call about supplies," says Reaney, "and just about every food bank in Florida that is vulnerable to the Hurricane, as it walks up the coast, according to it's path, is short on the kinds of supplies, that is normally immediately needed... the snack items, the water, drinks."
While Mobile is not in Hurricane Fay's path, director David Reaney says Bay Area Food Bank has a working agreement with Florida food banks to help them out in emergencies. Raeney says the staff here at the Bay Area Food Bank stands ready and willing to help those in the path of Hurricane Fay. But when it comes to giving food, there's a little problem.They barely have food here at the food bank themselves! Why? two reasons- food producers are making less, and donations are down because the economy is down.
"We're actually sending out more food than we're taking in, to the tune of 200 thousand pounds!" says food bank employee Sharie Archer.
The large number of empty shelves stand as proof.
"I mean, I'm looking through here and I'm seeing a lot of empty space in front of us and behind us," I exclaim to food bank employee Meredith Simmerman. "I mean, there should be food up here, right?"
"It should!" she agrees. "It should be stacked up to the very top!"
You see, even if there's no hurricane here, organizations who feed the needy get their food here, and supplies are thin. So where will emergency food be found for this or other storms?
"We would rather at this point, depend on inland food banks," says David Reaney. "Let Tennessee send some down because it's too risky for us for the next 30 days."
And inland food banks are poised to respond. That buys us time to replenish the cupboards here in Mobile. In Theodore, Darwin Singleton, NBC 15 News.
