Auburn Food Bank offers help to local families amid recent rise in gas prices

The Auburn Food Bank helps 23,000 families a year, and since gas prices began rising, it’s seen more people reach out in need of gas.

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Thanks to generous donors, the food bank has been able to hand out gas vouchers to those who need them most.

“We want to help the emergency and so for us, you need to go to the doctor, that’s an emergency,” Auburn Food Bank Executive Director Debbie Christian told KIRO Newsradio.

Christian says that she hears calls daily where people need gas to go to work, and although getting to work is important, it’s not considered an emergency.

So, how does the food bank decide who to issue gas vouchers to?

“It’s on a first come, first serve basis,” Christian described. “We take them at their word for what their need is and when we run out, we run out.”

The food bank has a goal to help at least 10 families a month, but with soaring gas prices, they can only help about three with gas vouchers.

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Christian says donors can make contributions and earmark the donation for gas, or drop off gas cards in person. Any and everything helps.

The public isn’t the only sector getting hit with high gas prices, either. The Auburn Food Bank feels the pain at the pump, too, having been forced to tighten its own budget.

The food bank has three trucks that have to run daily, and if push comes to shove, Christian will ask volunteers to start making food runs.

Christian reports that “gas money comes out of our general budget,” which has become particularly cumbersome given the recent rise in rates.

Regardless of hiked gas prices, all three trucks will continue to deliver food from Seattle to Auburn, and the surrounding areas and families can still ask for gas help.

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