New England News

Thursday, November 5, 2009

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Food bank in need of donations

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• Merrimack Valley Food Bank

LOWELL, Mass. -- A major food bank could be running on empty this holiday season, leaving needy families out of luck.

Crews at the Merrimack county food bank said they are starved for donations of Thanksgiving turkeys and if they don't get help soon, it could mean no dinner for hundreds of families in need.

"We could use a couple hundred donated turkeys," said Amy Pessia, executive director of the Merrimack Valley Food Bank.

It's not just turkeys that are needed; Pessia said the weak economy has cut deeply into both sides of her non-profit.

Demand for food has skyrocketed more than 30 percent over last year, while community donations have dwindled by 30 percent, leaving a huge gap.

"We are concerned, it's getting more and more difficult to meet demand," Pessia said.

This news is upsetting for people like Carmen Garcia, a mother of four who relies on the food bank to keep her kids fed and healthy.

"It's hard, the economy, you know sometimes there's not enough at home and places like this help out a lot," Garcia said.

"For the last 3 weeks, we've been incredibly busy," said Scott Stolz, Catholic Charities Food Pantry of Lowell.

Catholic Charities food pantry in Lowell is one of 100 agencies who benefit from the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. They are planning a thanksgiving meal for 450, but right now, they are some days when they have had to close their doors early and turn people away, because their shelves have been bare.

"I hate closing doors early, I hate not being able to give people the amount of food that they need," Stolz said.

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