Dare to Care Demand Grows, Hunger Walk Approaches

The leaders of the Dare to Care Food Bank say this year's hunger walk in Louisville has to be bigger than ever.Since late 2007, Dare to Care has seen the demand for food increase 67 percent. One out of every six area families now relies on the food bank for a portion of its diet, and the hunger walk has grown to almost meet demand."We netted about $50,000 from the event in 2008. Last year, that had doubled to $100,000," saysspokesman Stan Siegwald. "Our goal this year is just to improve over last year. We haven't set a specific number yet."The Hunger Walk is September 18th. Given the lackluster economic recovery, the demand for food will likely continue to increase."We would be remiss if we didn't plan on this being our normal for the next two or three years," says Siegwald.In addition to distributing more food, Dare to Care is trying to source healthier food."We're reaching out to local farmers. We're reaching out to more local sources as well as just more and more sources of healthier foods," says Siegwald.About 30 percent of food distributed last year was fresh produce.