Food Banks Say Demand For Meals Is Increasing, Despite Signs Of Recovering Economy

Despite an improving economy and decreasing unemployment rate, Wisconsin food banks say demand for meals they help provide is still increasing.

The state’s unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent in October with an estimated 4,000 new jobs created. But that hasn’t slowed demand on food banks, which supply food pantries across the state.

Kris Tazelaar, a spokesman for Second Harvest Food Bank of southern Wisconsin, said 93 percent of their pantries report steady or increased demand for food.

“There are certain economic indicators that show we are improving, but it’s the people who are on the higher end of the scale that are doing the improving,” Tazelaar said. “The people who at the lower end of the scale are not necessarily improving.”

Feed My People Food Bank, which serves northwestern Wisconsin, is distributing more than 125,000 pounds of food a week, three times as much as five years ago.