The Fountain Hills Democratic Club meeting March 11 featured two enlightening presentations on homelessness and the work of Extended Hands Food Bank.

Jeff Iverson, assistant director of Extended Hands, described the number of ways people in need have been provided basic food essentials for 17 years. The food bank serves more than 1,000 people per month. The average food cost is $20.83 per person or $81.32 for a family of four.

Extended Hands has more than 50 volunteers but can always use more. Volunteers help pack food boxes and other tasks. The top five items the food bank needs are vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs and canned food. For information on how to help, visit ehfb.org.

The second speaker, Ellie Hutchison, is an inspiring, living example of a success story for the homeless community. Once a homeless teenage mother, she is now a college graduate and a leader in a number of valley organizations related to addressing homelessness and social justice.

Hutchison works with the Fountains United Methodist Church as outreach and missions director.

She addressed the growing homelessness in Fountain Hills and in the Valley. She described the need for increased coordinated, countywide, multi-agency efforts to successfully interact with and help people who have lost their homes for many different reasons.

Adding to the problem recently is rising rent costs in the Phoenix area during the pandemic. Numerous lower-wage earners may have lost their jobs, further stressing shelter capacities.

Hutchison put a human face on people in that situation and encouraged attendees to treat them with compassion and kindness.

The club welcomed new members at the Zoom meeting. For more information about the organization, visit fhdemclub.org.