Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry

Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry
Jay Hamburg and Kate Santich | Sentinel Staff Writers
November 20, 2008
Unable to keep up with the growing ranks of hungry people, a Central Florida food bank turned to a group of local religious leaders to issue an interfaith plea to the community: Give before the cupboards go bare.

As the economy declines, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has struggled to keep up with unprecedented demands. The nonprofit agency distributed 2 million pounds of food last month. That compares with 1 million in October 2007.

And the gap between supply and demand keeps growing, said Dave Krepcho, the food bank's president and chief executive officer.

"We need to close that gap, not only with food, but we need to close it with faith," Krepcho said Wednesday at the agency's first multi-faith forum on hunger.


During the event at Lake Eola Park, the group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders all declared it is the faithful's duty to the help the poor and hungry.

"What we need to do is issue a clarion call to the greater faith-based community to take responsibility," the Rev. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, a Church Distributed in Longwood.
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