We set a new record in Aug. Not the one we are looking for! We only had 25 shoppers, the lowest count since we began the Village Harvest in Nov. 2014.
Why ? Some possibilities
1. People have received the child care credit. Eligible parents got the first advance child tax credit payment on July 15, with more partial installments being sent out through the end of 2021. Each child under age 6 could qualify for a maximum of $300 a month, and each child ages 6 to 17 could qualify for a maximum of $250 a month.
2. People have found work with labor in demand
3. People are away with the summer waning .
4. Children are back in school with the school picking up some of the food demand
Ironically, we had one of the larger food inventories. We have 1,461 pounds, the largest number of pounds since March. This included 476 pounds of produce, 702 pounds of grocery items, 248 pounds of meat and 35 of baker items. We paid $200 for the food but for those getting food a total of $351.
There was food left over. Elizabeth Heimbach reports, “we took the fruit, cabbages, peppers, bread, and some other things to the Food Pantry in Bowling Green. There are 16 bags of non-perishables and lots of frozen chicken all packed ready for next month.”
We will be looking to make calls of existing shoppers and possibly more advertisements to spread the word.