Do food banks stock fruit and vegetables and fresh milk?
They try really hard to get these foods. They understand that there are issues related to the nutritional quality of what they’re able to distribute so you’ll see during food drives appeals for cash donations so food banks can purchase certain items to improve the nutrition of what they’re distributing. There are also arrangements with, for example, dairy farmers, to supply fresh milk. But that kind of food is as precious as gold in the food bank system. So the distribution of things like fresh milk is carefully rationed, and nobody goes home with very much. What’s so painful to see is that as income declines, milk, fruit and vegetables aren’t included in the shopping cart. People know those are expensive foods and as they work to try and manage on a very low budget, they have to make trade-offs. They’ll end up with just a few low-cost foods that are high in carbohydrates and maybe a little meat for protein. But the milk, fruit and vegetables will be seen as unaffordable when someone’s
