COLUMBUS, Ind. — The ratio of supply and demand is hitting Bartholomew County’s largest food pantry with a “double-whammy.”
That how Love Chapel Executive Director Kelly Daugherty described the imbalance of food availability and the need for food that has hindered the food pantry, as well as several others locally, since the first of the year.
For reporting purposes, Daugherty compared the monthly average for all of 2021 with January. In terms of demand, the average households served monthly last year at the Love Chapel was 708. But the total rose to 959 this January.
Meanwhile, the number of individuals served at the facility, located at 292 Center St., rose from an monthly average of 2,767 last year to 3,626 in January, he said.
“Seeing those figures for the first time was eye opening,” Daugherty said. “We have been busy, and seeing an influx of new people – including many in a very serious need.”
But demand was just one part of the whammy. The other is a diminished supply of nourishing food and necessities.
Love Chapel has normally depended on large box stores such as Walmart, Target and Kroger to help fill their pantry shelves, Daugherty said.
“But with the supply chain issues, we’re not seeing nearly as many donations from them,” Daugherty said. “I mean, when you go shopping, you can see a lot of empty shelves in those stores.”
Similar shortages can also be found at the food pantry in the Columbus Salvation Army, according to Nancy Johnson, director of social services.
During the first week of February, the pantry at 2525 Illinois Ave. served 58 families for a substantially higher-than-normal 209 people, Johnson said. Her organization also delivers boxes of food to about 170 elderly and disabled in the region. Many of the new faces at the pantry include homeless individuals or children, she said.
One day a month, the Salvation Army opens up its pantry exclusively to those age 55 and over, Johnson said. But on Feb. 11, the facility was nearly out of food while the pantry was scheduled to remain open for another hour, she said.
For the complete story, see Friday’s Republic.
