THE HIV/AIDS food bank has taken a major hit from the recent layoffs in the public sector.
While donations have not been impacted in a significant way, manager of the food bank, Stacia Whittaker, said new people had been leaning on its reserve of food more.
The fresh referrals are mainly because a beneficiary or someone from their household has been put on the breadline.
“We’ve already had persons coming in for added help . . . .With the economic constraints we are seeing an increase in referrals and people coming into us for additional help,” Whittaker stated.
Speaking after a presentation of a barrel of non-perishables from Xtreme Hikers Barbados, Whittaker said they had stepped up the calls for donations from members of the public and people have responded, even though finances were tight.
“Bajans are still very generous and therefore we have still been receiving donations like these. Even people calling to see how they can assist.
“Even though we’re having new referrals, we’re still having those supporters that come and help us on a continuous basis and new ones coming on board. I think we have been fairly blessed so far,” Whittaker said, adding that there was always room for more volunteers and donations.
Chief executive officer Xtreme Hikers Barbados, Justin Henry, said the non-perishable items were collected from hikers at every outing and they were hoping to make a presentation to the food bank every quarter.
In thanking Xtreme Barbados for the donation, Whittaker said the drive by Xtreme Barbados was not only a way to give to people affected by HIV/AIDS but also for people to think of their own status at the time of giving and to understand that HIV was real. (YB)
