South Coast Today (Massachusetts), July 28, 2008: Increased demand strains supplies at local food pantries
July 28, 2008 6:00 AM
Lines are long at local food pantries this summer, and experts predict they will only get longer as more struggling families seek relief from the turbulent economy.
The problem is that the pantries are struggling, too.
Hunger relief agencies across Massachusetts say the demand for food is climbing at an alarming rate, but dwindling financial resources and fewer donations have made it almost impossible to keep the shelves stocked.
Bob Goldblatt, a volunteer at Solanus Casey Food Pantry in New Bedford, sees the dilemma firsthand. Demand is up, he said, but the food is fading fast.
“We’re always in need of food. More people sign up every week because of the economy, the price of food and gas. We’re probably averaging 15 new clients per week in the last six months and I suspect it’s probably going to get worse.”
The Solanus Casey Food Pantry, open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, serves roughly 800 families each month, Mr. Goldblatt said. Last week alone, 220 families showed up at the facility on Barney Street in need of food.
Donations tend to drop in the summer when school-sponsored food drives halt and people turn their attention to vacations and hitting the beaches, Mr. Goldblatt said. To prepare for the slow season, the pantry stores as much food as possible during the year. But by August, the shelves are almost bare and Mr. Goldblatt worries.
The Shepherd’s Pantry in Acushnet faces a similar problem. Every Saturday for the past eight years, people in need have flocked to the pantry at Long Plain United Methodist Church for cereal, soup, pasta and other non-perishable items. But this year, the pantry is struggling to keep up as more people line up outside the door.
“People aren’t hungry just in the winter, they’re hungry year-round,” pantry volunteer Pat Krosschell said. “We need individuals to contribute food or at least money to purchase the food. This time of year, our financial resources start to drain a bit.”
When donations are not enough, many food pantries turn to wholesalers such as The Greater Boston Food Bank, which provides food to 600 hunger relief agencies throughout eastern Massachusetts.
“All it takes is one illness, one layoff, one disability and the family budget is stretched,” said Stacy Wong, a spokeswoman for the food bank. “The flat economy is taking a toll and we’re seeing the demand for assistance going up. And it’s not just homeless people in need. These are your neighbors, rural, average Joe people.”
In a survey of 25 Massachusetts food pantries commissioned by the state’s food banks in April, 96 percent said demand had risen for food in the past year. Half of the food pantries said they had run out of food to meet that demand. Agencies forced to purchase food due to fewer donations said the financial pinch was hitting their limited budgets hard.
This month alone, Shepherd’s Pantry spent about $5,000 on goods at the Greater Boston Food Bank and local stores, Ms. Krosschell said.
“It’s more than we’ve spent in a long time.”
On a few acres of land next to the Dartmouth YMCA, an estimated 15,000 pounds of produce are being grown this summer to feed hungry families throughout the Greater New Bedford area.
The volunteer-run Sharing the Harvest Community Farm Project donates all produce to local food pantries and soup kitchens.
The program began in 2006 as a collaboration between YMCA Southcoast, The United Way of Greater New Bedford and the Hunger Commission of Southeastern Massachusetts.
“We consider 15,000 pounds successful, but when one food pantry is serving 800 families a month, it’s going to be a drop in the bucket. It’s an important drop, but a drop,” said Derek Christianson, farming project manager.
Other local farms often donate surplus produce to pantries during the sluggish summer months.
Heavy demand this summer does not bode well for the winter, when cash-strapped people will have to juggle spiking gas and food prices with home-heating costs. The thought unnerves Maria Lawton, vice president of Dartmouth Friends of the Elderly, which often works with the Council on Aging Food Pantry.
“There is a need, a desperate need, and it’s only July. It scares the heck out of all of us. If there’s such a need in July, I don’t even want to think about the cold weather, when people will have to decide between heating their houses and eating.”
Since last summer, demand for food has more than tripled at the Dartmouth pantry, director Deborah Raymond said. And when donations do come in, they do not last long.
“We’re in dire need of help,” Ms. Raymond said.
Even as people head to food pantries in record numbers this year, many others in need go hungry because they are too embarrassed to ask for food, she said.
Solanus Casey Food Pantry now rations food to ensure more people are served. Someone who once left with three boxes of cereal now leaves with one. Mr. Goldblatt said that should keep the supply somewhat strong, at least through August. But when he opens the doors to 200 hungry people each week, he has moments of doubt.
“There are days when I think we’re going to run out of food,” he said. “So far, so good, but I get those feelings every now and then.”
For a full list of local food pantries, visit the Greater Boston Food Bank Web site at www.gbfb.org.