UHIP Failure Increases Demand at Rhode Island Community Food Bank
UHIP Failure Increases Demand at Rhode Island Community Food Bank
RI Community Food Bank CEO Andrew Schiff says the need in Rhode Island is great and the failure of United Healthcare Infrastructure Project has increased demand.
“We know that lots of people have had to turn to food pantries because they’re not getting their SNAP benefits. They haven’t been able to get into an office, into the Department of Human Services for help,” Schiff says.
“There’s just no reason for it. The state has to get it fixed. People who are eligible for benefits need them and that’s one of the ways we can make sure we are preventing hunger,” says Schiff.
In 2016 the Rhode Island Community Food Bank distributed 9.2 million pounds of food to people in need through their network of 160 agencies.
Schiff says the goal for 2017 is to distribute 10 million pounds, with a continued focus on healthy, nutritional foods. Currently fresh produce makes up 2.2 million pounds of the food bank’s annual distribution.
Government funding accounts for only two percent of the Food Bank’s budget. Schiff says’ as a nonprofit organization, they are funded primarily through donations, corporations and foundations.
The next big fundraiser for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank is Truck Stop: A Festival of Street Eats on April 28 from 5:30 – 8:30 PM. You can sample foods from Rhode Island’s finest food trucks.