Food banks hurt for donations

MAT-SU — Valley food banks are running short on food. The Valley’s 22 food banks are seeing fewer walk in donations and more people looking for meals, staff say.

Henry Guinotte has operated the Palmer Food Bank since he retired as a Presbyterian minister in 1990. Guinotte said there are a couple of factors contributing to the shortage.

First, he said a high number of regular food bank customers were expecting summer work, but found none. There is a regular stream of people who move to Alaska certain they will find work, but who remain unemployed, Guinotte said.

“This myth started back when they were building the pipeline, that if you come to Alaska, you can get work anywhere. That’s far from the truth,” he said.

While there may be jobs available, many occupations require more training than the average worker has who walks through Guinotte’s doors.

Second, federal food donations are shrinking and the Food Bank of Alaska is not donating as much as in recent years, which was the main source for food banks in the Valley.

And, third, walk in donations have almost completely disappeared. These days, the Palmer Food Bank receives mostly surplus food from grocery stores, Guinotte said.

“We got inundated with hamburgers and hot dogs and buns last weekend,” he chuckled.

Despite a downturn in supplies, local food banks are still struggling to feed the hungry.

“Most of the people I get are single mothers, or families. We’re not trying to save souls, just feed them. But no matter what, everybody who walks in here leaves with food. We’ve always got bread and cans on the shelf,” said Guinotte.

Lt. Mark Davey, who has been in charge of the Salvation Army in the Valley for the last year, reports similar shortages.

“It’s a two-phase thing, increased need and reduced resources. There isn’t much for us to give, which is something we’re not comfortable with,” Davey said. “We are looking into new ways to do food drives in the future but that doesn’t help the present.”

The Salvation Army feeds 90 families a week in Palmer, he said.

“Sometimes more, but never less,” said Davey.

Volunteers there are finding new ways to pinch every penny they receive to buy food.

The Wasilla Food Pantry serves 3,400 people a month and is the largest food bank in the Valley.

“When the walk in donations started going down, I started asking for more monetary donations. Now 80 percent of our food is what we buy,” said Eddie Ezelle, Wasilla Food Pantry director.

The coldest July on record also has limited the volume of Valley crops received by food banks.

Ezelle said people seeking assistance or wishing to help, should dial 211, the United Way Helpline.

Here are two Valley businesses accepting food donation:

• Kristan Cole Team, 5131 E. Mayflower Lane, Wasilla. Contact 373-3575.

• Mat-Su Sylvan Learning Center, 1261 Seward Meridian Road, Suite L, Wasilla. Contact Debora Ann Lee at 357-7323 or matsusylvan2@gmail.com.

Contact Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com or 352-2252. Follow @trockeynews on Twitter.