Rising prices worry food banks

Increased food prices — especially for dairy and beef — are worrisome to managers of food banks. Karen Ford, who manages the Food Bank of Iowa, says food prices are expected to rise even more, and she’s not sure how donors will react. The Food Bank of Iowa gets most of its food from food companies. Ford says the donations are rarely made because the food or packaging are damaged. Ford says the most common cause for donations are the company decides on a different marketing strategy and wants to get newly-labeled products on the market, or the food is too close to its “use by” date. Ford says cookies and crackers are relatively “short-dated” and can turn stale or turn into crumbs if they’re not used quickly. Each month, the Food Bank of Iowa distributes about three-hundred-thousand pounds of food to 288 agencies in 42 Iowa counties.