CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Due to the coronavirus pandemic and resulting loss of jobs, more and more people are turning to local food pantries like the Coastal Bend Food Bank.
Nationwide, food banks are doling out meals at a rapid pace and an associated press data analysis found a sharp rise in the amount of food distributed compared with last year.
Meanwhile, some folks are skipping meals so their children can eat, and others are depending on cheap food that lacks nutrition.
Here in Corpus Christi, Food Bank Director Bea Hanson says they're seeing more first timers in every "drive-thru" food giveaway.
“Especially during the time when the business shut down and people did not have a job, we saw a surge of about 30 percent in the people coming to the food bank,” said Hanson. “And since we're doing drive throughs a lot of people will just look at us and say I’ve never done this before."
Hanson says the Texas National Guard has spent the past two months helping the food bank distribute food, but they've left. Hanson says the food bank is desperately in need of volunteers to help stock and distribute food throughout the holidays.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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