food pantry

Food banks find themselves struggling with a shortage of donations amid an increase in prices and demand from families needing help.

The greatest number of volunteers and donations to food pantries and kitchens occur at holiday time, but people go hungry 365 days of the year.

Food pantries in the metro are seeing more clients than ever, but generous donations are helping them meet the demand. They also say it could be at least two years before families get back to where they were before the pandemic began.

While pandemic food aid programs have ended, organizations like Cross-Lines are searching for long-term solutions to increase food access.

Federal COVID-19 relief boosted SNAP payments. But some states have ended their disaster declarations to speed up the economic recovery even as advocates warn that some people will go hungry.

Gov. Mike Parson stopped all federal pandemic-related unemployment programs, effective June 12, in the hopes of incentivizing people to return to the workforce.

For households with kids, the percentage who didn't know where their next meal was coming from jumped from 13.6 to 28 percent since the coronavirus struck.

The coronavirus saw food insecurity for households with children rise 15 points and the Kansas City woman giving fatigues worn by service members new purpose.

Fewer Missourians are on unemployment, but many are underemployed compared to last year. That's kept demand high at the state's food banks.

The busiest places in Kansas City this holiday may be our food banks.

Local food bank Harvesters donated nearly 7 million pounds of food in the month of October — the most in its 40 year history.

Feeding those in need has always been in the eatery's business plan but the pandemic caused owner Meg Heriford to convert it to a full-time community kitchen.