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Food Donations Fall in the Summer, Officials Say

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By John Gutierrez-Mier, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Apr. 3--FORT WORTH -- An estimated 192,000 schoolchildren -- enough to fill Ameriquest Field in Arlington almost four times -- are at risk of going hungry during the summer, say officials with the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Many are children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch during the school year.

"Summer always puts a strain on families," said Bo Soderbergh, the food bank's executive director. "Energy bills spike, and schoolchildren who qualify for free or reduced lunch sometimes have to do without."

Soderbergh and other officials with the food bank hope that individuals, businesses and service groups will consider conducting food drives before summer arrives.

The food bank distributes food in Tarrant County and 12 other counties including Parker, Johnson and Wise.

Bryan Henrie, 17, a junior at Aledo High School, said he knows the difference a food drive can make.

Last week, he donated 896 pounds of food he and several of his Boy Scout buddies collected as part of his Eagle Scout service project.

"I planned this for a month," said Henrie, who delivered the donations to the food bank's sprawling warehouse just northwest of downtown.

There was plenty of peanut butter and jelly and canned goods. Henrie explained that he collected the items by going door-to-door in his Parker County neighborhood.

"I'm glad I can help," Henrie said.

Susan Frye, community events director, said that when summer rolls around, the warehouse is usually bare.

"People have other things on their mind," she said. "They're thinking about vacation. They're dealing with their own children being out of school, but less fortunate children are still going hungry."

Frye applauds Henrie's effort. She explained that peanut butter and jelly, along with stew and canned vegetables and tuna fish, have long shelf lives.

"We're always looking for volunteers, but we're especially looking for people or organizations such as churches or businesses to conduct food drives," she said.

Frye said she's willing to help anyone considering collecting food for the needy.

"I've got plenty of packets of information and a list of items that we need the most," she said. "We've got poster and other ideas. Nobody thinks about hunger in the summer, but we want people to know that people are hungry 365 days a year."

HUNGER

In the United States, 13 million children, or almost one in five, do not consistently get enough to eat.

In Texas, almost one in four children, or 1.3 million, live in households that do not always have an adequate supply of food.

In Tarrant and Dallas counties, one in five children, or more than 210,000, do not get enough to eat.

In Tarrant County, one in seven children, or almost 65,000, live below the federal poverty level and are at high risk of hunger.

SOURCE: Tarrant Area Food Bank

Tarrant Area Food Bank, www.tafb.org

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John Gutierrez-Mier, (817) 390-7155 jmier@star-telegram.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)

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