Buffalo New York Food Banks: 35,000 are veterans or currently in the military

Food 2 Families: Veterans A Growing Group In Need of Help
WGRZ NBC News
Erica Brecher
December 3, 2014

Billoni said 27 percent of people the Food Bank serves in a four-county region, or some 35,000 people, are veterans or servicemembers currently in the military.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's not always who you'd expect receiving help from the Food Bank.

One growing group of people finding themselves in need is our own U.S. veterans.

"Well, for a man, it's not a good feeling," said Vietnam veteran Frank Kirkwood. "Lost employment. And especially in this particular area, and then my age too, you know I'm 59 years old."

The Veterans One-Stop Center in Buffalo, which helps veterans find the resources they need to get back their economic stability and emotional well-being, helped put Kirkwood in touch with Post 77, a member recipient of the Food Bank of Western New York.

"Sometimes there's a little bit more month left at the end of the food," said Roger Woodworth, president and CEO of the One-Stop Center.

Woodworth recognizes the need to help post-Vietnam and post 9/11 veterans growing.

He says putting them in touch with places like the Food Bank takes care of a short-term need that can put them on the path of meeting long term goals.

"When you look at providing a little bit of economic stability in the form of food supplements, or a hit around the holiday time with food, that helps make choices easier. It helps with economic well-being and emotional well-being," he explained.

He says 60 percent of post-Vietnam era veterans coming into the One-Stop Center are at risk of homelessness, and those are often the same folks struggling to feed themselves.
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