DANVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - Eastern Illinois Foodbank has been busier now more than ever due to COVID-19.
As of now, things have been running smoothly for the Foodbank, but they are still tackling situations one day at a time. One of the issues they are tackling is identifying where the highest need is coming from in central Illinois and to what extent with a new software they have.
"Only 60 percent of all of our partners are using it. I think overall we are seeing a 12 percent increase of new households," said Molly Delaney, Vice President of Development for Eastern Illinois Foodbank.
She says 12 percent of those people are people who have never used a food pantry or been a part of their program.
"We are seeing that pretty much across the board. With the exceptions of Vermilion and Dewitt county. Dewitt county is more of a 20 percent increase in new households. For Vermilion County it's more around 30 percent," she said.
One thing they do know for sure is that central Illinois has not been impacted as hard as some other areas in the country.
"We are trying to look at this more long-term. We don't know really what the impact will be economical. We don't know how long it's going to take our counties to recover. It's going to be different community by community--which it always is," she said.
As of now, it's hard to detect the exact numbers because not every partner is using it.
"When we have the economy up and running. People will think it's over, but it really isn't for those who are going to be hit hard," said.
However, they will be there to provide that help as they do all year-long
