(Radio Iowa) After setting multiple records during the pandemic, the Food Bank of Iowa is setting yet more records this summer for the number of people using its pantries. Annette Hacker is spokeswoman for the Des Moines-based agency that serves Iowans who are facing food insecurity.

It was hoped food demand would slack off once the panic over coronavirus began to wane.

While most businesses that were closed by the pandemic have long since reopened, other factors are now making life challenging for many thousands of Iowans.

Some may have a perception that the people who use food pantries are homeless, unemployed or both, but Hacker says that’s just not the case.

As demand rises, she says food donations have dropped from restaurants and grocery stores and food is costing the agency more to buy now than ever before. The Food Bank served nearly 122-thousand individuals in May, while the number exceeded 135-thousand in June, an all-time high, while July’s numbers are projected to be equally as high.