Feeding South Dakota sees drop in food donations, calls for monetary help

Feeding South Dakota has a message for the community: Donations are down, and the hope is the Sioux Falls area will step up to address a food insecurity gap during the summer.

Lori Dykstra, CEO of Feeding South Dakota, sent a letter to prospective donors explaining the temporary dip in donations at the beginning of the summer and the need for more funds.

“The weeks without school-provided meals are when many families count on us the most,” Dykstra said. “The high cost of living has kept the need for food assistance up across South Dakota.”

While people might be inclined to donate food, financial gifts go farther right now, said Stacey Andernacht, marketing and communications director.

“When we have a drop in donations, we have to purchase more food,” Andernacht said. “We have a food sourcing team that seeks partners to help purchase more food at lower prices.”

Andernacht said that while Feeding South Dakota also faces higher prices, the organization can stretch monetary donations farther.

“For example, every one jar of spaghetti sauce a donor could buy, we can purchase three,” Andernacht said. “Feeding South Dakota has purchasing power that stretches a dollar further.”

Hunger in South Dakota appears to be trending up along with food prices.

While data lags real-time numbers by a couple of years, the most recent changes showed a 3.6 percent rise in food security from 2021 to 2022 in South Dakota. That represents about 106,000 residents who are food insecure — or one in nine people in the state, meaning they consistently lack access to enough food to maintain a healthy, active life. They report skipping meals to make food last longer or choosing less nutritious food because it’s less expensive.

Statewide, 38,000 children were reported as food insecure, or one in six.

Feeding South Dakota served more than 12,500 families in June through its mobile food distribution program across the state, Andernacht said. The mobile food program saw an increase of 614 children since April when school was in session, for a total of 10,044 children served in June alone.

“Many of the families we are serving through our programs are working families,” Andernacht said. “Many are finding it difficult to cover all of their expenses right now on top of food.”

Feeding South Dakota has 18 sites administering its BackPack Program across the state. Andernacht said almost 3,700 units were distributed in the first three weeks.

“We have purchased over 400,080 pounds more than the year before and have seen a 30 percent increase in cost too,” Andernacht said. “It’s really about working together and continuing to form partnerships in the community.”

Andernacht said Feeding South Dakota is “keeping an eye on the farm bill” because much of the organization’s funding comes through it and benefits such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, are included in it.

How to give

According to Feeding South Dakota, one dollar can fund 10 meals. To donate, click here.