BOISE, Idaho — With the holidays and the 'giving season' shelved for now - our food pantries are still in need of stocking.
Local food pantries continue to see many Idahoans dealing with food insecurity.
The Salvation Army Boise Corps is seeing more than 1,500 people come through their food pantry every month. Their peak season is around Christmas - where they just saw a 30% increase in need compared to Christmas 2022.
Even though the holidays have passed, the needs pantries are seeing in our communities certainly have not.
"There really is no season of need - need is there 365 days of the year," Salvation Army Boise Corps Director of Development Lindsay Klein said.
The Salvation Army in Boise is seeing more than 100 new families utilizing its services every month.
"These are new families - not necessarily new to the area, but new to needing help for the first time," Klein said. "We're seeing a lot of two-income families - mom's working, dad's working. We're seeing a lot of single parents working, trying to make ends meet and just needing a little bit of help."
The Idaho Foodbank has also been responding to an increase in food insecurity across the Gem State.
"We know that there are too many Idahoans facing food insecurity," Idaho Foodbank CEO Randy Ford said. "We served on average this last fiscal year 213,000 individuals [a month] across the state, and we've seen a growing number within the senior population. We serve about 48,000 seniors per month on average."
A recent report by United Way of Treasure Valley shows that 43% of Idahoans are struggling to afford necessities, with a variety of factors leading people to seek extra day-to-day help.
"Sometimes it's household costs, housing costs, food costs," Ford said. "But also this time of year, it could be seasonal - where high heating bills or other seasonal costs can impact them as well."
Food pantries are always looking for shelf-stable donation items including cereals, pasta, canned meats and soups.
The Idaho Foodbank has an online food locator with a statewide map of where Idahoans in need can receive food.
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