With each Tyson Foods truck delivery, we have asked our local partners to tell the story of hunger in their state and showcase the good work of volunteers and donors. On Thursday, August 26, we delivered a truckload to the Idaho Foodbank in Boise. Here is their story:

Hi, we are a family of 5, 3 children (two teenagers and a toddler) and 2 adults. I am no longer working and we have been hit with garnishments because we have fallen behind. We are NOT in need of a thanksgiving dinner but our shelves are very bare and sandwiches meat and potato’s are even tough to buy right now. Can you please help? My wife is the only income in the home she takes home around 1100 each month, we have a 400 garnishment that will not be completed till March. Thankfully I have had some help from my parents but we are behind on gas, electric, car ins, rent payments, car payments. Hopefully we can get some assistance from your organization with food. Thank you.

Signed S.R.

This is typical of the letters we receive at The Idaho Foodbank. Families overcome with medical problems, parents laid off work, people who work two and three jobs to try to make ends meet. Thousands of Idaho families need food assistance every year. And now, people who used to donate have become recipients.

These situations are what drives The Idaho Foodbank. As an independent nonprofit organization, the Foodbank has served Idaho families for 26 years. During that time, we have worked with a network of independent partner agencies to distribute more than 85 million pounds of free emergency food to individuals and families in need. This network of over 200 partner agencies consists of emergency food pantries, community kitchens, shelters and programs that collectively work together to relieve hunger in Idaho.

More than a statewide distribution system, The Idaho Foodbank provides important services like the Backpack Program, Mobile Pantry, Grocery Alliance, Picnic in the Park (summer feeding) and Idaho Community Gardens. These programs fill the gaps which are otherwise unmet in communities that may lack resources to assist families and children in need. Combined, our food distribution network feeds 119,000 people a month in a state with a population of 1.5 million.

The Idaho Foodbank is wholly dependent upon donations received by individuals, corporate sponsors, grants and partnerships with local, state, and national donors to raise the food and funds needed to provide food to the network. As a member of Feeding America, The Idaho Foodbank is able to leverage donations it receives to acquire food at a rate of four pounds for every dollar received and to provide two meals for each dollar. Similar to the Idaho Foodbank’s network, Feeding America acts as a hub to over more than 200 partner independent food banks throughout the United States.

In Hunger in Idaho 2010, the largest hunger study ever conducted in the state, the Foodbank found:

• 47% of those who access emergency food in Idaho report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel
• 34% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage
• 34% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care
• 37% had to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation
• 49% had to choose between paying for food and paying for gas for a car

During these uncertain times, more and more Idahoans are seeking emergency food assistance, many for the first time. Some of these new recipients were donors just a short time ago. With financial hardships and a difficult economy, for some Idahoans The Idaho Foodbank network is their only option. Many of the individuals and families that utilize the network many of them have offered up some of their stories and shared how hunger has affected them and how.

We rely on the food bank to get us through the month, if we didn’t have that resource there would be times when I wouldn’t have anything to feed my family, thank you so much.

Signed J.C.

Everything we do and all the lives we touch are made possible by individuals like you, and partnerships such as this one with Tyson and those within each community we serve. It takes a community coming together to make a real difference and lift up our friends one meal at a time. Wecanendthis and CauseShift have set a great example of how, when we unite, we can make a change and truly understand the meaning of how Hunger Affects Everyone!

Donations of nutritious food and protein are especially difficult for food banks to find. The Tyson truck load of beef, chicken and pork is a veritable goldmine for our partners. Think of how many people will enjoy a mouthwatering meal with meat as the main course! On behalf of these families, seniors, and children who will enjoy a delicious meal, ‘thank you’ for supporting the campaign. It’s proof that, together, “WeCanEndThis.”

The Idaho Foodbank,

Leading the effort to end hunger in Idaho

Dear Food Bank,

Please help. My daughter and her family struggle just to scrape up enough for rent, let alone be able to buy food. Her husband works long hours and he was just informed that because of a missing certificate his pay will be reduced significantly until the dispute is resolved. His wages support a family of five. I am in California so my help is limited, though I did pay the car payment and the rent last month.

In 2000, my oldest granddaughter had open-heart surgery at 3 months of age. In April of 2001 my daughter was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare neurological cancer. Then my granddaughter had to be rushed to Salt Lake for a pacemaker because Boise does not have the facilities to perform the procedure. Because of these health issues my daughter was fired from her job at a local hospital because she missed so much work. The children have no health insurance because their income is over 300.00 a month and he is not eligible for insurance until he has been employed for a year which will not be until April.

The medical expenses have strapped everyone. They don’t ask for anything but I am asking for your help. They could use some food to hold them over for the holidays. Can you help them please?

Desperate Grandmother