Soaring food prices and supply chain issues are leading to empty shelves at Broomfield FISH, the organization said.
The nonprofit, which provides food and other assistance to those in need, is quickly running out of basic products such as diapers, cooking oil, bottled juice, canned meat and other products, said Maggie Sava, a spokesperson for the organization.
“For example, egg prices have gone up so much — every family can come through and get two cartons of eggs, but we’ve talked about, is that sustainable based on the price of eggs? If they continue to be that expensive,” Sava said.
And the need for groceries is high — Broomfield FISH is helping just as many people as it was during the pandemic, she said.
“We’re seeing the impact of things happening across the country with inflation, cost of groceries, cost of gas, supply chain shortages — we’re seeing the impact very locally with our neighbors that we’re serving,” Sava said.
“I think everyone’s feeling that pressure, but of course it impacts our low-income residents disproportionately.”
Around 1,000 families are currently relying on Broomfield FISH each month for food and assistance, Sava said.
“We’re also seeing people come through that have never needed assistance before — this is the first time they’ve ever had to come into a family resource center food bank, because of how hard it is to afford things right now,” she said.
In 2019, the nonprofit was distributing an average of 90,000 pounds of food per month, according to the organization’s annual report. That number increased to around 140,000 pounds per month in 2020, and hasn’t changed since, subsequent yearly and monthly reports show.
Community members can help keep Broomfield FISH shelves stocked through the nonprofit’s Adopt a Shelf program.
“Families, businesses and community groups can adopt a shelf of a certain high-need item and either donate money every month or bring in the food item and put it on the shelf,” Sava said.
“That’s a way that people can help us target really high-need food items.”
