Drastic weather patterns cause grief

A Lynchburg summer storm has left blood supplies low while a Midwest drought causes food shortages

Blood Shortage

In the wake of a summer storm that left many residents of southwestern Virginia without power for up to a week, the American Red Cross has declared a state of emergency regarding the current supply of blood.

Liberty University hosted a drive Aug. 29, with approximately 60 to 65 students donating blood. Bill Johnson, account representative for Lynchburg’s Red Cross, works with all the local colleges and universities. He expressed his pleasure with the results they received.

“Working with Liberty is fabulous. We have more donors at Liberty than from anywhere else,” Johnson said.

“Although an emergency appeal for donors in early summer temporarily stopped a decline in donations, results from July show that Red Cross blood donations for the month were the lowest they had been since 1996,” an American Red Cross news release stated.

“We lose 15 to 20 percent of donors from local high schools and colleges in the summer, and with an overall low turnout this year, the blood has dropped to critical levels,” Johnson said.

“If blood resources dip below 50 percent of the standard supply at Centra Health, hospital leaders may have to consider canceling elective surgeries,” director of transfusion services George Cook said in Lynchburg’s News and Advance.

This year, the shortage is stretching into the fall as well.
“Shortages at this time of the year are uncommon. It’s a bit frightening, to be honest,” America’s Blood Center’s Melissa McMillan said in an ABC news article.
Residents in the Lynchburg area have tried to do their part to bring the blood supply back to normal levels.

Starting Sept. 4, there will be a four-day blood drive in DeMoss Hall from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Johnson encourages students to give blood, suggesting that if one donation helps three people, every 10 people helped affects 100 people.

Food Shortage

Meanwhile, inclement weather of another type is affecting the nation’s food supply. An ongoing drought in the Midwest has affected many of the nation’s crops.

“Currently, Sodexo Dining Services at Liberty University is not experiencing the effects of weather-related food shortages,” Julie Pfeifer, Marketing Manager/Catering Sales Manager of Dining Services, said.

While on-campus prices have not been directly affected, the food bought from Liberty’s suppliers could eventually see a 3 to 5 percent increase in cost. Sodexo has to worry about price fluctuations on produce purchases. Fresh, local produce is used as much as possible for the dining on campus, but the quality and variety of food served will be affected by the dry climate. Sodexo and Liberty have a set contractual price for resident dining. Because of this, dining prices should not change within the academic year.

“We work diligently to ensure our products are the best quality at the most affordable prices,” Pfeifer said.

One of the main crops to suffer in the drought is corn. Corn is a staple in many of the things consumers need, including car fuel and feed for livestock and poultry in addition to food on consumers’ plates. The Washington Post reports that both meat and poultry farmers are culling the herd in response to the drought. This desperate action is causing meat prices to drop in the short-run.

The drought has been so severe for farmers that they have been forced to cut down acres of dried up corn and feed them to the livestock. Doug Nelson, a farmer in Nebraska, told the Washington Post that things have not been this bad since 1974.

Iowa, the nation’s largest corn producer, was classified as being in extreme drought Aug. 21. With the United States responsible for 60 percent of global corn exports, and the demand for corn still rising, prices could eventually compare to the elevated prices seen in 2008.

The rain from Isaac could help bring the drought to an end.