Cars line up for hours for drive through food bank

Hundreds of cars lined up in East Hartford, Connecticut in hopes of getting food relief on Friday.

The emergency food bank run by Foodshare was supposed to end May 8th but the need was so great that officials extended the program.

With record levels of unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity is on the rise in the United States.

To protect volunteers and move the service along, cars are told not to stop but instead move along slowly with their trunks open so volunteers can give them food with out having contact.

Brian McKeown lined up at 5am to ensure he would get food.

"We need food. My son was laid off, my daughter-in-law was laid off and I'm handicap," said McKeown.

Mirna Packer-Blake says she was working two jobs before the pandemic, but has been laid off from both.

She is concerned about what is going to happen once Connecticut reopens its economy.

"It's just at bay right now because we are doing the masks, we have been doing the social distances, we have been staying home. And my concern is now when we get back out, you know, is it going to continue to be the same?" said Packer-Blake.

(Representative Image)