South Florida food bank in danger of closing

A Miami area food bank is danger of shutting down, just when need is greatest. Stop Hunger Food Bank says that unless they receive enough donations by the end of the month, they will be forced to close.

From this article from WFOR, reporter Kimberley Chapin looks into the troubles of the food bank. The WFOR website is also collecting donations to help keep the food bank open.

"This is the first time in our 30 years that we have faced the problem of shutting down," said Executive Director, Julius Littman. That's a big change, considering that at one point, Stop Hunger handed out more than 550 thousand meals a month.

So how could this food bank that serves so many of South Florida's hungry now be facing closure?

Arnold Jean Baptiste of the Children's Services Council, who sits on Stop Hunger's board, explained, "The individuals that used to donate to Stop Hunger now are looking to Stop Hunger in order to survive. The donations they used to get have now gone down; they are working hard to get more food and keep the service going."

With more families lining up for food and a decrease in donation, many sacrifices have been made.

"Our volunteers are working full time and getting paid for half time," said Fox.

But it's a sacrifice that many at Stop Hunger are willing to make, because many of them once turned to Stop Hunger for help themselves; it's something volunteer Seven Rosario knows all too well. "It's always good to have a helping hand, they've helped me and now it's my turn to help someone else," Rosario said.