Mike Wolanin | The Republic Kari Lovelace, left, and Theresa Lovelace pack boxes of food for BCSC schools at Love Chapel Food Pantry in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.
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.
Most local food banks rely on Gleaners Food Bank of Indianapolis to help fill in gaps. But Gleaners spokeswoman Sarah Ezell says the omicron variant of COVID-19 left several volunteers choosing to stay home. Many are either infected, in quarantine awaiting test results or assisting their child in eLearning, she said.
Supply-chain problems have also had an adverse impact on one popular annual event to help feed the hungry.
United Way of Bartholomew County’s annual CANstruction, which was set for Feb. 26 at NexusPark, has been canceled due to a pandemic-related shortage of canned goods required to build creative structures used in the event. Most years, CANstruction generates nearly 50,000 cans or more that are divided among several local food pantries.
This time of year is especially difficult for food pantries. The cold weather months following the holiday season are a time when food and financial donations drop – but the need is as severe as ever, especially amid the pandemic.
One bit of good news is that, at this time, the 24th annual Empty Bowls soup-and-chili fundraiser for area food pantries is still on. As the event did last year due to COVID-19, the fundraiser will feature a drive-thru format at Donner Center on Saturday, Feb 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. Organizers hope to raise more than $20,000 this year and make 500 meals.
For now, Love Chapel has funds available to purchase food to help restock some shelves. However, Daugherty says those funds won’t last for long if the shortage of donations continue.
Meanwhile, the Community Center of Hope’s food pantry appears to be holding its own – for the moment. Churches and community members have pulled together to help the pantry, located at 543 Washington St., Hope, keep its shelves stocked, administrative assistant Ashley Mack said. There have been other options for ordering food and getting the pantry’s stock back up, she said.
“But I have questioned when demand will start climbing for sure,” Mack said. “We’ve already had a little incline (in demand), and I do anticipate it will rise further.”
When food pantry managers are asked why some many families are struggling while Bartholomew County’s jobless rate is low, they provide a number of reasons.
“I just read a national report that says the average worker has to make $3 an hour now more than a year ago because of inflation,” Daugherty said.
The Love Chapel director also said a number of Bartholomew County residents had to take off work because they either had the coronavirus, or had to quarantine themselves to ensure they didn’t have COVID-19. Several received no compensation from their employer while they were self-isolating, Daugherty said.
The loss of the stimulus checks in December, as well as supplemental unemployment payments, has also had a negative impact on struggling families, Johnson said.
