RICHMOND, Va. -- Food banks in Central Virginia are busy handing out rations to thousands of residents who have lost their jobs and are experiencing financial hardship in the wake of COVID-19, but some are concerned that they may begin to run low on food as the crisis continues.
On Tuesday, a food pantry off of Iron Bridge road was supposed to stay open until 7 p.m., but had to close early after running out of food.
Curtis Nines help direct traffic at the Iron Bridge road food bank, which has since become drive-through only.
"People need help. They really need help," Nines said.
And while pantries are stocked for now, Eddie Oliver executive director of Virginia Food Banks, said that there is concern that they may run into shortages.
"We've seen a lot fewer grocery store donations come in, which can be as much as 50 percent of our inventory," Oliver said. "With the panic buying, grocery stores just dont have as much to donate as they normally do."
"We've never experienced a crises like this -an economic emergency and a global health emergency at one time," Oliver said. "We need to get more food to more people, but with fewer resources," Oliver said.
