Some food banks in the Phoenix metro area are reporting a huge increase of people seeking sustenance as unemployment claims continue to grow because of the coronavirus pandemic.
St. Mary’s Food Bank served 1,250 people at its largest Phoenix facility on March 23. That compares with 495 on March 16.
A St. Mary’s spokesman told the Arizona Republic that the food bank has served more than 1,000 people every day now since March 17.
The facility had never before served 1,200 people in one day outside of the holiday season.
United Food Bank reports serving more people right now than it normally does on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The facility distributed food to an estimated 2,000 households last Friday at the Mesa Convention Center.
Nearly 89,000 people applied for unemployment benefits last week, up from 29,000 a week before and way up from about 3,500 a week before the coronavirus health crisis.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
