The Greater Cleveland Food Bank has seen an increase in demand in recent days after severe storms left many people in northeast Ohio without power for days.
A particularly large number of people have been served at the Community Resource Center, the food bank’s grocery store, over the past five to seven days, said Karen Pozna, the food bank’s communications director.
Despite the significant increase in demand, the food bank was able to maintain supplies, thanks in part to the First Energy Foundation’s pledge of $100,000 to GCFB last weekend in response to the numerous power outages.
First Energy is the energy provider for much of northeast Ohio. Nearly 500,000 of its customers were affected by Tuesday’s storm.
This donation would enable the food bank to distribute more non-perishable food to people who had no electricity and were unable to refrigerate their food, the food bank said.
The GCFB announced Friday that it was able to provide nearly 1,000 non-perishable meals to families in need following the storm.
The food bank also announced that it plans to continue these efforts, saying it will procure more non-perishable food items for people without power this week.
While supply can currently keep pace with unusually high demand, the food bank says it continues to ask donors for additional financial support as distributing more food quickly brings a lot of additional pressure.
Pozna recommends that anyone without access to food due to recent power outages call the food bank’s helpline at 216-738-2067, where people can be directed to the nearest food or relief center.
A map of the GCFB Resources can be found here.
Anyone who owns food purchased with SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, that was lost during the storm due to a power outage lasting more than four hours can apply for replacement benefits through the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Service website.
