Food Bank for Monterey County holds a diaper distribution for south county residents

GREENFIELD, Calif. (KION) The Food Bank for Monterey County held a diaper distribution for south county residents late afternoon on Tuesday.

The event was a drive-thru distribution held at 615 El Camino Real in Greenfield. According to the food bank, the time and location were picked to benefit the parents and families of south county.

For the food bank, diapers are always in high demand. One mother who has a 2-year-old, says spending money on her daughter's diapers adds up.

"With the diapers and stuff, I think it's pretty expensive and stuff. You're wasting a lot of like, a lot of money," said Sandra Gasca.

The food bank has been open throughout the pandemic and has seen the need increase tremendously. At one point, the food bank was providing services for 53% of Monterey County.

"The immediate needs were food. We were serving such a large percentage of the population. People we had never seen in our lines were all of a sudden turning to the food bank. That's remained pretty consistent," said Melissa Kendrick, Executive Director of Food Bank for Monterey County.

Although the food bank's main priority is food, they try to provide essential items like diapers for the community.

"Not historically something we would have done but it was required. We know it's formula or anything like that for children. We're going to do everything we can to support our families and out county," said Kendrick.

On average, a newborn baby is expected to go through 2,200 to 3,000 diapers per year. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, an average monthly supply of diapers will cost families around $80 per month which adds up to around $960 per year. For this reason, Gasca says she's grateful for the food bank.

"There's a lot of families that need help buying diapers right now especially with like COVID and stuff some people are not working and I think it helps a lot of people in the community," said Gasca.

It's huge help for low-income families given that SNAP does not cover diapers.