Food bank helps Kaohsiung families to get through hard times of COVID

Описание: Let’s head now to a food bank in Kaohsiung to find out how local charities are responding to the pressures of COVID. Since COVID restrictions tightened, many vulnerable families are finding it harder to make ends meet or even put food on the table. Donations to the food bank are down too, as local businesses fight to stay afloat. But with community support, the food bank’s doors are still open to those who need help the most.

A worker sorts vegetables in the food bank. Fresh produce like water spinach and watermelon go alongside frozen products to make a full set of kitchen staples. The bank is supplied by a convenience store full-time, as well as by occasional donations from local restaurants. The food is given free of charge to local residents.

One recipient is this single mother of two. In this bag are various products, including sweet potatoes, pumpkins and noodles. It will keep the family fed for days. When this wave worsened, and school shut, Mom was forced to take a break from work to stay at home and care for the children full-time.

Single mother
I had to stop working on May 15. It would be hard without the food bank, yeah. Thank you. I really need it, yeah.

Single mother
We all have to take care of the kids. It’s hit our diet, our whole lifestyle. But the food bank, the charity, and the kind folks here have all been kind enough to help us like this. So it’s very touching.

It’s not just local families who are going through hard times. Restaurants are struggling too, which has led to a 60% drop in food bank donations. But a local store has launched a “meal voucher” project, raising enough money to pay for 3,500 lunches.

Chiang Ching-lung
Food bank deputy chair
One meal costs NT$80. We’ve raised enough for about 3,500 lunchboxes. We want to make up the funds that are missing, so that our families can go and get a free lunchbox at our local convenience store chains.

The food bank may not be as amply supplied as normal, but thanks to the hard work of many workers and donors, the show goes on. For local families, it’s a much-appreciated lifeline in a storm.