Food banks in The Hague running out of food as more people need help
The Haaglanden Food Bank is running out of food. “We are getting less and less food while more and more people are registering for help,” vice chairman Henk Baars said to Omroep West. The Food Bank urgently needs pasta, rice, and canned or jarred vegetables.
The Haaglanden Food Bank distributes around 4,000 food parcels weekly to residents of The Hague, Rijswijk, and Zoetermeer struggling to make ends meet.
Now that high prices have everyone in a pinch, more people are registering with the Food Bank, but the donations are drying up. Companies are increasingly economical with their products, which means fewer leftovers for the Food Bank.
“That’s why we’re really making a cry for help now. Don’t throw away another kilogram. Give it to us,” Baars said to the broadcaster.
The Hague city councilors Janneke Holman (PvdA) and Lenne Baboeram (GroenLinks) have asked the mayor and aldermen to explicitly support the Food Bank. They’ve also launched a fundraiser. “In this way, we can already take action,” Baboeram said.
“There are people in our city who have to get by on 50 euros a week. It is great that the food bank has lowered the threshold so that more people can get food packages. But that also means that the food bank has shortages, so we are taking action,” said Holman.
