Capital Area Food Bank Alters Its Operations Due To Coronavirus

WASHINGTON, DC — The Capital Area Food Bank addresses the issue of food insecurity in the greater Washington, D.C. area. It provides food to the more than 400,000 individuals with the help of over 450 non-profit partners, such as soup kitchens and pantries. In a typical year, the food bank provides about 30 million meals to its network of partners.

With the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 is turning out not to be a typical year for the food bank, which is seeing tremendous increases in the amount of food that previous clients needed as well as new clients looking for assistance due to the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn.

"What we have seen in the last few months is that our partners are reporting anywhere from a 30 to 400 percent increase in the number of individuals they are seeing walking through pantry doors looking for support when it comes to food," said Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank.

People often confuse a food bank with a food pantry, but the two are significantly different from one another, according to Muthiah.

"A food bank provides food to food pantries," she said. "A food bank is really much more engaged in the larger food system and being able to both acquire donations, purchase food, work with farmers etcetera, to be able to get their produce — and on occasion meat and dairy as well — into the food system for those who are food insecure."

Due to the increased demand for its services, the Capital Food Bank has had to make a number of changes to how it operates. On the supply side, the food bank used to receive about 60 percent of its donations from area retailers, wholesalers, and farms. With the onset of the pandemic, that figure declined significantly because retailers didn't have food on their shelves to donate. Now the food bank has to purchase a lot more food than it used to.

"It's been a very resource intensive effort to be able to both fundraise and then be able to purchase hundreds of truckloads of food to compensate for the dramatic reduction in the supply of donated food and the increase in the demand for food," Muthiah said.

Another change the food bank had to make was on the distribution end. When the pandemic started, many of the its partners had to close their doors.

"Many are serviced by seniors who are volunteers in these food pantries and soup kitchens," Muthiah said. "They themselves felt vulnerable and were not able to open up the distribution at their pantries."

The Capital Area Food Bank had to pivot to alternative distribution models that involved setting up hubs around the region at high-capacity partners who could make food available for large groups of people. These included pop-up pantries and school district distribution centers. In the latter case, the food bank could supplement the boxed lunches the schools were providing students with a nutritionally balanced box of food for their family.

In the past, clients were able to go to visit food pantries and choose what foods they wanted to take home. With the pandemic, the Capital Area Food Bank couldn't efficiently support that model, so it shifted to a model where is was delivering nutritionally balanced boxes of food rather than client-chosen items. This change required a lot more support from volunteers.

"Managing volunteers, socially distanced, in a safe manner with all the right PPE was important, but also a critical new element in our supply chain before food was provided to those in need," Muthiah said.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has forced the Capital Area Food Bank to alter the way it operates, one thing that hasn't changed, so far, has been the support its received from the community.

"We've been very thankful for the generosity of our community, whether that's large foundations and corporations or just the consistent smaller sum donor who has maintained their giving to the food bank," Muthiah said. "In times like this, people look to support those organizations that are providing basic needs for individuals to be able to just survive through these types of emergency periods."

While the Capital Area Food Bank's donor base has continued to support its efforts in alleviating food insecurity, Muthiah recognized that as the pandemic continues, it may be more difficult for people to continue to make their regular donations.

"Unfortunately, as we're all seeing quite clearly now, this is not a sprint," she said. "It is more of a marathon. We're likely to be in this situation for another six to 12 months. And so, we urge individuals to please continue in whatever capacity they can, to continue to donate."

Muthiah added that the food bank's retail partners have said they don't expect to see donations return to pre-pandemic levels for another six to 12 months.

"This is the time to be that friendly neighbor, to be the neighbor that can offer a helping hand," she said. "Some can come out and volunteer and support us, that's great. Others may not be able to do that, but their support through financial donations will help us ensure that their wish of supporting their neighbor in these difficult times is fulfilled."