Times are tough and the proof is in the food banks: demand for the services of the two food banks operated by Bonney Lake Community Resources are up 60 percent from a year ago. At the same time, donations have decreased because times are tough, Director Stew Bowen said.

“If you look at this row of pallets with food on them, that’s all the bank has,” Bowen said as he gestured towards a row of pallets – about a week’s worth of food – in the basement of the Bread of Life Food Bank on Prairie Ridge Road. “It’s the same situation at the Bonney Lake Food Bank.”

Community Resources absorbed the Bread of Life Food Bank in January. Bread of Life was formerly a church-operated bank. Now both food banks serve the same footprint, effectively making them one food bank with two outlets.

But demand is up considerably. The Bread of life location alone served 695 families in March, an increase of 20 percent in demand.

The food banks make pickups from grocery stores seven days a week. But the current rate of incoming food hasn’t kept up with demand.

“We’re basically giving away everything that comes in every time it comes in,” Bowen said. “We have to restrict what we give families, because if we gave them what we were giving them before, we wouldn’t have anything left. Like for canned foods, no matter what the family’s size, we have to give them one item. If a family gets tuna, they get one can of tuna.”

Bowen hopes the bank can supplement its store pickups with donations from individuals, he said. The food banks accept donations of food or cash, but cash goes further in feeding families because of the increased purchasing power non-profit food networks can demand. One dollar can net about $7.50 of food, according to information Bowen gathered from Food Lifeline at their most recent conference. Most of the Bonney Lake food banks’ purchases come through Food Lifeline or Emergency Food Network.

On a late Wednesday morning, the main room of the building was crowded, with people in need of the bank’s services waiting in seats for their turn to pick up items.

“If you’ll notice, most of what we have out are bread and sweets,” Bowen said. “We want to get more canned foods and nutritious foods, but that’s a challenge right now.”

The Bread of Life Food Bank is located at 14104 Prairie Ridge Drive. The Bonney Lake Food Bank is located at 18409 Old Sumner-Buckley Highway, next to the Public Safety building.

For more information on how to make a donation to the food banks, call Bowen at 23-208-6779.