The Grant County Food Bank served 1,200 more people in 2020 than in 2019.

Tom Sutton, a member of the food bank board of directors, said the pandemic and changes in food bank eligibility created the increase in people served.

The 2020 income guidelines to qualify for the Emergency Food Assistance Program greatly raised the monthly and annual income limits in 2020, according to Sutton.

In 2019, a monthly income of $1,926 or a yearly income of $23,017 for a family of one was the maximum. In 2020, a monthly income of $3,190 and a yearly income of $38,280 for a family of one was the maximum.

Sutton said the pandemic also created an interesting pattern in the amount of people going to the food bank. When people received stimulus checks, less families went to the food bank the following month, but this made it so the members on the food committee would need to adjust their plans for distributing food.

“On the food committee, we need to expect if we’re going to gain or lose the amount of clients coming from the previous months,” Sutton said. “This month, because of the numbers from last month, we’re planning to feed 150 families. When we set up, we set out enough food based on this distribution to cover that.”

Sutton said, since the pandemic, the food bank has seen an increase in people from outside of John Day requesting food. He said Long Creek and Seneca signed paperwork that authorized volunteers from those cities to haul other people’s food to them.

This allowed more people from outside of John Day, especially the elderly, to gain access to the food bank.

“In those communities, the people that needed food are getting food that had never gotten food before (from the food bank) because it was too far to drive or they couldn’t drive at all,” Sutton said. “They can work with their local people who can pick up their food for them.”

Sutton said, prior to the pandemic, there would be about three to four families from Long Creek driving to the food bank for food, but now they receive about 20-30 families a month, thanks to the volunteers in their city. He said they noticed the same increase from Dayville and Seneca.

“What’s making this so good is that we’re getting food to senior citizens in Long Creek that didn’t have it before,” Sutton said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

The trend continues in 2021 as 419 families were served food throughout the months of January, February and March — 29 families more than 2020.

Sutton said there has also been an increase in volunteers coming from cities outside of John Day. He appreciates and enjoys the enthusiasm they had to prepare the food and serve their community.

“They have foreign exchange students that come from Long Creek, and they enjoy being here, and we enjoy having them here. They are hard workers, and it’s a pleasure having them here,” Sutton said. “We enjoy and appreciate the help from the Boy Scouts.”