ATLANTA — As diesel prices continue to tick up, the Atlanta Community Food Bank is drawing from its reserves to cover rising fuel cost. The nonprofit distributes almost 500,000 pounds of food daily.
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“We’ve got a fleet of almost 30 vehicles on the road every single day. They’re delivering food across 29 counties to 700 partner organizations,” said Jon West, vice president of partner relations at Atlanta Community Food Bank.
In Southwest Atlanta at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, they’re bringing food in and distributing it daily in trucks that require diesel.
“We’re seeing an increase over the last three months of almost about 60% in our fuel costs,” said West. “So add that up, it’s probably going to be an additional $100,000 that the food bank is going to have to spend on fuel this year.”
“We’re pulling money from reserves,” he said.
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The Atlanta Community Food Bank says in the first few months of this year, they spent $15,000 a month on diesel for their trucks. But since April, the cost have spiked to more than $25,000 a month.
According to AAA, diesel prices in Georgia are up from $3.54 a year ago, to $6.32 today. It’s the highest recorded average price.
But that’s costing food banks, who know if they’re feeling it, so are the organizations they work with and the families they serve.
“They’re having to make hard tradeoffs between putting that fuel in their car, seeing the increases at their grocery store bills right now. And that leaves more and more space that they just can’t fill,” said West.
The spike in cost comes as they head into the busiest time of the year, the holiday season.
“We’re doing everything that we can to not pass on any of these additional costs to our partners or to our neighbors who are also experiencing increased need right now as well. So we’re pulling money from reserves,” added West.
You can give to the Atlanta Community Food Bank online.
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