Food Bank Visits Up 30% In Down Economy

The Louisville-based Dare to Care food bank says it’s seen a 30% increase in the number of people seeking food assistance.  Higher gas and food prices are part of what’s driving people to seek help.  And because the food bank itself has food and gas bills, development director Stan Siegwald says it’s unclear how the organization will sustain rising costs and the increasing need.  Siegwald says most of their new clients are people who have never needed food assistance before."What we hear are people who are facing financial times now where they can’t pay a medical bill, and go to the grocery, where they can’t pay their rent or thei mortgage or their utility, and go to the grocery.  So more and more people are having to make critical decisions about life necessities.  More today than ever before," says Siegwald.Siegwald says that despite the fact that most households they serve have at least one adult who works.  But the troubled economy has stretched their budgets thinner than ever.