The Chattanooga Area Food Bank is set to receive more than $200,000 in American Rescue Plan funding for its efforts to feed the hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the $207,595 in funding after the food bank reached out about a gap between the funding it typically receives and the increased services it provided during the pandemic, said Joda Thongnopnua, Mayor Tim Kelly's chief of staff, after the meeting.
"Recognizing, obviously, that providing emergency food services during the pandemic was a critical service, we decided to step in and make sure that people are receiving food and that the food bank was supported in that process," Thongnopnua said.
(READ MORE: Food insecurity grows in the Chattanooga area as food and fuel costs rise)
The funding comes out of the $7 million the city set aside for emergency response funding from the total $19.3 million it received last year through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed by Democrats in Congress in March of 2021.
The city is set to receive roughly the same amount of money later this year, for a total of $38.6 million.
City Council chair Chip Henderson, of Lookout Valley, said after Tuesday's meeting the pandemic made food insecurity worse in Chattanooga, making the food bank's efforts that much more important.
(READ MORE: TVA gives $25,000 to local Chattanooga Area Food Bank and more business news)
"Probably the biggest thing I see is how it affects children," Henderson said. "Just from the standpoint of the children, they obviously are dependent on somebody to provide. When they have food insecurities and they start having trauma about where they're going to get their next meal, it obviously starts affecting their performance at school."
The funding will come on top of the $25,000 the Tennessee Valley Authority last month provided the food bank to alleviate hunger and help provide access to nutritious food for those in need.
(READ MORE: Good Deed: Publix donates to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank during Hunger Action Month)
Although a representative for the food bank was not present at Tuesday's meeting, Melissa Blevins, president and CEO of the organization, last month noted that household budgets are still very tight.
"Although we hope for the day when everyone in our communities and neighborhoods has enough to eat, many people are still facing hunger - especially as we continue to experience the negative impacts of the pandemic," Blevins said in a statement at the time.
The food bank provides about 14 million pounds of food to its more than 161,000 clients who live below the poverty line in the Chattanooga area, according to its website.
Contact Logan Hullinger at lhullinger@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416. Follow him on Twitter @LoganHullinger.