Harvesters struggling in August, says need is high during pandemic

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Harvesters – The Community Food Network is looking for more donations. August is a busy time for the food bank, but Harvesters’ leaders tell KSNT News this has been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

Amy Pinger is the Senior Community Engagement Manager at Harvesters in Topeka. She said as community need has gone up, donations have not.

“Since the pandemic started we have distributed more than 25 million pounds of food,” Pinger said “And at a time that our food drives and a lot of our companies are not able to do the generous donations that they are typically able to do.”

Pinger said a lot of food drives have been cancelled due to the pandemic as well. She said they have had funds come in to keep them operating, but August is traditionally a busy time.

“You have the end of summer and families have tried to feed those kiddos through out the entire summer,” Pinger said. “That puts an extra burden on already thin budgets, so when you add the pandemic and that kids have been out of school since March it just increases that need even greater.”

Harvesters has a list of their most needed items published on its website. People can also donate to a “virtual food drive” by clicking here.

Hy-Vee in Topeka is hosting a “Cram the Van” food drive for Harvesters on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. People can drop donated items into one of the Harvesters bins in the store or drop off donations at the customer service desk.