Supplies Short At Food Banks End Of Federal Food Program, Strike, Rising Demand Blamed

Charity food supplies are perilously low, partly because of a strike at The Boeing Co., food-bank officials say.

“This is the worst I’ve seen it,” said Ruth Velozo, executive director of Northwest Harvest, which distributes food to food banks throughout the state.

As of Friday, just three bays in the agency’s warehouse on the Seattle waterfront had food in them - about a third of the number usually filled, Velozo said.

“I stopped by our Building 50 at … Terminal 91 this morning, and you could drive a train through there” because so little food was taking up space, she said.

Part of the reason for the paucity, food-bank operators say, is that bulkfood shipments from the federal government ended at the end of September because of budget cuts. Those shipments provided commodities such as butter, canned vegetables, meat and rice.

In addition, donations from private individuals are down.

“I think people make less money,” said Lila Henderson, director of the Maple Valley Food Bank and Emergency Service Center. “There’s a group of working poor out there who are struggling; seniors who have medical bills.”

At the same time, thousands more people are turning to the food banks for help. In the first nine months of this year, the number of households served by Seattle food banks increased by nearly 11,000 over 1994, said Brenda Bielke of the Food Resources Program.

The shortage hits at the same time as about 23,000 members of the Machinists union are on strike against Boeing in Washington state.

“I’m noticing anywhere from one to three (striking workers) a day that are signing up,” Henderson said. “We really don’t know where those numbers are going to lead.”

In an effort to help meet the demand, Henderson said, she will begin her annual campaign for donations this month - earlier than usual.

Other food banks are trying to stretch their resources by shopping more carefully.

“There’s more haggling and trying to get more for what we’re spending,” said Rose Bradshaw, director of the University District Food Bank.

In a time of need, some people are stepping up to help. Matt Marinkovich, Tacoma-area president of the Puget Sound Gillnetters Association, said he hopes this week to collect 5,000 pounds of donated fish from commercial fishermen to be distributed to food banks.