Hungry And Broke Amid Coronavirus: FIND Food Bank Sees Suffering

INDIO, CA — A week after members of the California National Guard began volunteering at a major food bank in Indio amid the coronavirus pandemic, management put out a call Wednesday for community help in the form of cash and donations to meet a growing need as the local economy continues to suffer absent tourism dollars.

"Families are hurting now," FIND Food Bank President and CEO Debbie Espinosa told City News Service. "A lot of people have been laid off, a lot of people have been furloughed and a lot of people would have made their money at the high point of tourism but didn't."

Since the first COVID-19 cases surfaced in Riverside County several weeks ago, FIND has seen the local demand for food double to quadruple, according to Espinosa, who forecasts that the 90,000 people FIND serves monthly will bump up to at least 125,000 by the summer.

"People are literally coming to us saying I haven't eaten for two days," she said. "Adults are skipping meals to feed kids or seniors in the household."

FIND is the "central hub" of the regional food distribution ecosystem, and a state-recognized food bank that distributes government assistance food out to other regional organizations, she said.

FIND has added 19 new feeding sites to the 120 it already had, including a newly opened location in Anza and another in Joshua Tree set to begin operating next week, Espinosa said.

In response to COVID-19, California state officials have increased the state's food deliveries to regional food banks like FIND, and sent the National Guard to food banks across the state to shore up dwindling volunteer forces and increased demand.

The federal government's $2 trillion stimulus plan signed by President Donald Trump last Friday is also set to provide some reprieve for overburdened food banks down the road.

"The federal food is great," Espinosa said, "but for the amount of need, it's going to take state, federal and donations."

FIND needs cash as well as food donations, especially shelf-stable protein sources like creamy peanut butter and canned tuna and chicken.

Espinosa said locals, many of whom work in tourism-dependent industries, normally tend to try to save money earned between January and May to last them through the summer and into the fall, when the weather cools and visitors and vacation home owners start returning.

Joyce Kiehl, a spokeswoman for the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the organization has yet to compile data on the effects of COVID-19 on the Coachella Valley `because we are still in the midst of it.

The bureau's website displays a "Pause Now. Play Later" slogan accompanied by the message: "While today we are safer apart, we want to continue to inspire you to plan your next visit."
For more information about food distribution in the Coachella Valley or how to donate, visit www.findfoodbank.org.