BELTON, Texas — The demand for food in Belton is growing.
“Since I’ve been here in only a few months I’ve seen it get busier and busier,” said Helping Hands Ministry of Belton volunteer Lorie Mann.
The summertime is the busiest time of year for local food pantries. Helping Hands Ministry of Belton says they see more than 150 families a day. Coordinators say 75 new families came in for food last month, and those numbers continue to grow.
“Last time, a lot of people came, and I have never felt so tired. It was good tired,” said volunteer Whitley Ledbetter.
Ledbetter and her grandmother Man volunteer every week and check bags and stock shelves; no matter how young or old you are, there is always a way you can help.
“Helping people brings good to the world. We can change it if we do a lot of good stuff for people. Maybe people can learn off of us from doing good,” said Ledbetter.
With inflation, gas prices and food costs ARE soaring. Executive Director Alicia Jallah said the plan is to see 400 families every week for the rest of the summer to meet the demand.
“A lot of those new ones are people with disabilities that are not able to work. Seniors that are on a fixed income. Even lots of veterans are coming in on fixed income that are just needing to help supplement with these rising costs,” said Jallah.
That is why the Feed the Need Summer Drive is so important.
“It’s helping us fill that gap during the summer months; helping us to get the money to be able to purchase all the food that we need. Every month it takes about 40,000 pounds of food to meet the need in our community, and that takes a lot of money and food to make that happen,” said Jallah.
Donations can be made at 25cares.com
