KERN COUNTY - A large number of local people are looking for their next meal. The Community Action Partnership of Kern County says more than 40 percent of callers using the 211 information call line want to know where they can find food. And, they say more people are making that request every month.
Phone lines light up at the Community Action Partnership's 211 call center. And, many of those dialing want to know where they can get food for themselves and their families.
"We had no idea it would go like this. We thought it would pretty much level out as to all of the programs and needs, but no. Food seems to be number one," said CAPK's 211 program manager, Deborah Steagall.
This year, from January to the end of July, 42,090 people called 211. Of those callers, more than 17,000 were looking for a food bank.
In just this month alone, of more than 5,100 callers to 211, 1,943 were hungry. And, the number of calls coming in increase by a thousand each month.
"We are finding a lot of new callers that are calling for resources that didn't know about them before," said Steagall.
"Over the last few years, we have really seen the need increase and the demand just keeps growing. A lot that we get from our sites is that we just need more," said CAPK Food Bank Manager, Ian Anderson.
The food bank serves 11,000 people each month. That number is creeping up as the demographic of people in need shifts more toward the working poor.
"People that have had jobs and they've had to take pay cuts or they've lost their job because of the economy, and those individuals a lot of times, they don't know what services are out there or what they can find," said Anderson.
Many who have never needed help before don't know about any of CAPK's 102 distribution sites. So, they call 211 and operators direct them to their next meal.
"Our goal out here is to put ourselves out of a job. We would like to not have to open our doors. But, I think that we are going to be here for a while," said Anderson.
While the food bank is there for emergency needs, 211 operators also guide those looking for food to longer term services like WIC and Cal-Fresh.
Phone lines light up at the Community Action Partnership's 211 call center. And, many of those dialing want to know where they can get food for themselves and their families.
"We had no idea it would go like this. We thought it would pretty much level out as to all of the programs and needs, but no. Food seems to be number one," said CAPK's 211 program manager, Deborah Steagall.
This year, from January to the end of July, 42,090 people called 211. Of those callers, more than 17,000 were looking for a food bank.
In just this month alone, of more than 5,100 callers to 211, 1,943 were hungry. And, the number of calls coming in increase by a thousand each month.
"We are finding a lot of new callers that are calling for resources that didn't know about them before," said Steagall.
"Over the last few years, we have really seen the need increase and the demand just keeps growing. A lot that we get from our sites is that we just need more," said CAPK Food Bank Manager, Ian Anderson.
The food bank serves 11,000 people each month. That number is creeping up as the demographic of people in need shifts more toward the working poor.
"People that have had jobs and they've had to take pay cuts or they've lost their job because of the economy, and those individuals a lot of times, they don't know what services are out there or what they can find," said Anderson.
Many who have never needed help before don't know about any of CAPK's 102 distribution sites. So, they call 211 and operators direct them to their next meal.
"Our goal out here is to put ourselves out of a job. We would like to not have to open our doors. But, I think that we are going to be here for a while," said Anderson.
While the food bank is there for emergency needs, 211 operators also guide those looking for food to longer term services like WIC and Cal-Fresh.