SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – According to Feeding South Dakota, over 100,000 South Dakotans are at risk of going hungry every day, and the pandemic could make it even more difficult for families in need to get food.
Like many businesses and organizations right now, Feeding South Dakota has had to rethink the way that they’ve been used to doing their jobs.
“Since the middle of March we’ve been in full emergency box packing and distribution mode. Continuing to do drive-by distributions both here in Sioux Falls and roughly about 100 communities across the state. Trying to provide food to those individuals and families that’ve been impacted by the COVID pandemic,” Matt Gassen, CEO of Feeding South Dakota, said.
Normally, Feeding South Dakota has food pantries open in Sioux Falls and Rapid City for those in need to come and get food. However, those have been closed since March and Gassen says he doesn’t know when they’ll open again.
“I think we’ve realized that now is a good time to just leave our pantries closed and just really shift our models to doing more of neigborhood style distributions. So, in the coming months we’ll be transition from what we’re currently doing, which is a central distribution out of the old Fareway store here in Sioux Falls and converting that into neighborhood distributions in multiple neighborhoods across the city in an effort to really take food to where hunger is instead of hunger always having to come to us,” Gassen said.
The neighborhood distributions have already started in Rapid City. As for mobile distributions across the state, Gassen says he estimates they’ve been providing food to around 10,000 households each week.
Gassen says they’re ready to begin their backpack program again, too; it was suspended in March.
Feeding South Dakota could use more volunteers to help with distribution centers.