GASSAWAY, W.Va. — Mountaineer Food Bank expects to distribute more than 10 million pounds of food throughout West Virginia this year.
“It’s still a struggle just because the need keeps going up,” said Chad Morrison, the food bank’s director of development. “We’ve got donors that are backing us up, but even with that growth in donations it’s still not enough to meet the food insecurity needs here in West Virginia.”
Mountaineer Food Bank, based in Gassaway, serves the majority of West Virginia counties. Morrison said the numbers of needy residents are growing even among working families.
“There are people that have jobs, work full-time, but they’re just not making enough to buy the nutritious foods or to make it through the whole month. That’s the biggest thing, there’s a gap,” Morrison said. “They may be able to make it the first week on their paycheck, but then they pay their bills and that last week before they are paid they don’t have enough. So they visit a food pantry.”
The agency lists various ways to assist at its website MountaineerFoodBank.org or by calling (304) 364-5518.