(Eagle County Food Aid :50)
Food Bank of the Rockies knew when COVID hit in 2020, demand for the free food if offers to Eagle County residents would dramatically grow. Eagle had been projected in May of that year to be 5th in the entire country in terms of overall change in its food insecurity, with a hike of 124 percent projected for 2020 over 2 years earlier. And most figured that kind of change would subside after the pandemic. But now, in ’23, sustained food insecurity’s higher in Eagle County than ever. The local Salvation Army chapter says it’s never seen demand as high as it is today. Where maybe 20 folks a day used to be a big food rush, Salvation Army officials now say they’re seeing some 80 people each day. Food spending by aid organizations also including Food Bank of the Rockies and Community Market is also higher than ever. Such groups say they’re glad their donations and volunteer staffing have remained strong, but if you’re interested, they can always use more volunteer help.