Gas Prices hurt food bank

By Zak Minor

When basketball legend Thumper Newman founded his nonprofit food delivery service in 2002, his annual operating costs were about $10,000. That was when the average price for regular unleaded gas was $1.34 per gallon. This year, Newman will spend $10,000. just in gas for his nonprofit agency A Gift from Ben. " It's a real shock when you're spending $800 to $1,000 a month on gas," he said .Newman spent $800 on gas in April and $1,000 in may while delivering food to the needy residents in the Williamsburg area. Because gasoline now accounts for such a large amount of the charity's costs, Newman relies more on donations to keep the operation going. Last year A Gift fro Ben received $20,000 in cash donations and donations of food valued at 1.4 million. Because the food is donated on the sell by date, it is valued at half of retail value. That means that if the food had been bought off the shelf, it would have cost close to $3 million. A Gift from Ben received it at no charge. " I'm amazed at the quality and the quantity of the food," Newman said " We moved 800,000 pounds of food last year." Even though his operating cost has increased, Newman knows that those who need his food are suffering too. A Gift from Ben, a federally recognized nonprofit organization was founded by Newman and his then wife Heather after the death of their son Ben.

 "On Dec. 26 2001, I lost my son Ben in a car accident and right after he died we started this charity in January and named it after him," Thumper said. " After he died, I wanted to kind of bring some good from his death." According to Newman, A Gift from Ben filled a need in the community after the food bank at St. Bedes Catholic church closed. Newman learning from the example set at St. Bede, decided to expand the role of the food bank by delivering food directly to those in need using a refrigerated truck. Everyday Newman picks food up from the produce, meat, bakery and deli departments at 8 local grocery stores." We pick the food up everyday, and five days a week we drive to areas in the community, low-income neighborhoods, and we bring it to where people can just walk out of where they live and into the parking lot," Newman said. Once a week, the charity also supplies food to Avalon: A center for woman and children. On Monday & Friday the food bank is stationary, after it's morning pickups, and operates out of the Living Proof Baptist Church. With the exception of those two days, Newman and the food are in constant motion. Newman is digging deeper into his wallet to help support his nonprofit group. He wants to ensure that donations benefit the real goal-delivering food to those who truly need it- rather than simply dumping them into the gas tank.