|
Annual Food Distribution
o Goal - 3.8 million meals
o Actual - 4.5 million meals
Elimination of Shared Maintenance Handling Fee
o This minimal handling fee, charged to our Member Agencies, was eliminated effective April 1, 2007 in order to increase food distribution in the community, by removing the cost barrier.
o Community Food Share is 1 of only 17 Feeding America's 200+ food banks to do so.
o Annual revenue loss to Community Food Share is approximately $140,000, which we have recouped through extra fundraising efforts.
o Member Agencies have taken significantly more food as a result of this change, confirming that we made the right decision.
Growth of "Feeding Families" Warehouse Distribution Program
o At the beginning of 2007 we focused eligibility on families with children in the School Free Lunch Program in the Boulder Valley and St.Vrain Valley school districts (there are 10,000 low-income children enrolled in the program).
o In 2007, we increased the frequency that families may shop. Families may now come to the warehouse weekly to select food.
o In January 2007 there were 250 families enrolled; in December 2007, 460 families shopped.
Significant Increase in Food Distribution
o Distributed over 1 million more meals than in 2006 (a 33% increase!).
As always, Thank You for Your Support $1 donated = 4 meals
POOR ECONOMY A “PERFECT STORM” FOR AMERICA 'S FOOD BANKS
The impact of rising energy and food prices, and the poor economy in general, are affecting us all. However, the impact on the working poor can be devastating, and all too often low-income families choose to pay for gas, utilities and medical expenses over food.
For Community Food Share, this economy is a double edged sword. The supply of food available to Community Food Share is reducing and getting more and more expensive, while the demand for food assistance in our community is up significantly because of skyrocketing food and fuel costs. Community Food Share has distributed more emergency food boxes than in any time in our history.
Challenges We Face to Meet the Need
Rising prices directly impact our food acquisition budget of $500,000, and one dollar just does not buy what it did last year – nor what we had planned when we developed the 2008 budget. Events such as drought in Australia and the impact on wheat products, decreased arable land due to ethanol production, and now the floods in the Midwest, are all combining with a weak economy and rising fuel costs to create a “perfect storm” of challenges for food banks across the country.
Donated Food. Approximately 85% of the food Community Food Share collects is donated, making us subject to varying market and agricultural conditions. Challenges include:
• Transportation Cost Increases. We pay transportation to bring food to Colorado , from wherever we find it across the country. We leverage this expense by sharing truckloads of product, and associated costs, with the four other America 's Second Harvest food banks in Colorado . Because of rapidly rising diesel fuel prices ( up 189 % from 1 year ago) the transportation cost of a semi-trailer to us can run as high as $5,000 per load – double what it was a year ago.
• Loss of Trucking. The availability of trucks is also being affected since drivers are turning down long distance hauls, in favor of shorter, lest costly trips. We have already been declined three semi-trailers of fresh produce due to lack of trucking.
Wholesale food purchase. Used to supplement our inventory, this represents 15% of food we collect. Since the beginning of the year, we have been faced with at least double digit price increases in staple items. Rice has actually gone up 30% .
While at times this is overwhelming, by carefully leveraging our food acquisition dollars, Community Food Share has been able to procure enough food to distribute 27% more food over the same time last year. With the community's help, we will be able to reach our goal of distributing 4.9 million meals this year, despite the obstacles that lay before us.
|
