Last week, the Lede spoke with Nicole Williams, CEO of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama which serves Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Walker, and Winston Counties. Williams discussed some of the challenges food banks face post-COVID and stressed the importance of year-round donations.

Here are five takeaways from that conversation:

Central Alabama is still several million meals short for its food needs

Although Williams said she is proud of the 20 million meals the food bank was able to distribute this year, the county is actually in need of millions more.

“…For food insecurity in our 12 counties, if we were meeting the need completely, we would need 33 million meals,” she said. “So, I always point out that there’s still a lot of work to be done. Although 20 million meals is amazing, we’re still working to feed our neighbors in need.”