FOOD INSECURITY: Pantries seeing increasing numbers of people needing help

More families continue to seek help from local food pantries as inflation takes its toll on budgets.

Kelly Daugherty, who leads Love Chapel’s food pantry, has learned to put things in perspective.

“At least I’m not worried about what my kids are going to eat tonight,” Daugherty said. “There are so many families today in that predicament.“

In April, Love Chapel’s pantry, 311 Center St., purchased 16,775 pounds of food, followed by 14,390 pounds in May, and finally 10,123 pounds in June.

“Up until this year, it had always been less than 1,000 pounds a month – and that was just milk,” Daugherty said.

While Love Chapel served an average of 708 households a month last year, that figure soared to 1,007 in July, the ministry director said. While foot traffic has dropped slightly this month, demand is still about 20% higher than the previous record set while Daugherty has been in charge of the ministry.

In an effort to ease hunger in rural areas, Love Chapel has initiated a mobile food pantry that makes a run at least once a month, according to Daugherty. Before food prices began to soar, the mobile pantry would serve an average of 75 families, which translates into 225 people. But in July, it served 214 families and 747 individuals, the ministry director said.

“So we’ve tripled how many people we serve in our mobile pantry,” Daugherty said.

One positive note is that demand for food generally drops by 5% to 7% after fall classes begin, he said.

“Summer is busier because the kids are out of school, not eating school lunches and depending on food at home for all meals,” Daugherty explained.

Until inflation subsides, the laws of supply and demand will likely to keep food prices higher than normal for another three to five years, he said.

Not long ago, good-hearted donors would bring in $20 to $30 worth of groceries with some regularity to the Salvation Army of Columbus food pantry. But due to skyrocketing food prices, visits by those generous folks have become few and far between, social services manager Nancy Johnson said.

Nevertheless, she said the pantry at 2525 Illinois Ave. always seems to have just enough food to last from one delivery by Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana to the next. And while large donations are not as frequent as they once were, there are still caring individuals that donate.

“I stand very firmly on the thought that God is going to take care of what I need,” Johnson said.

Inflation is creating challenges. Salvation Army’s food pantry was serving three to four new families every week at the beginning of last year, according to Johnson.

“On average, I’m now seeing 10 new families come into the pantry every week,” she said. “We haven’t seen numbers like this. But so far, we have been able to take care of what we have.”

One of the reasons why the Salvation Army’s food pantry can keep its shelves fairly well stocked is the product they received through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

The types of foods purchased through this federal program can vary, depending on the preferences of states and on agricultural market conditions. Nearly 90 nutritious, high-quality products are available that include canned and fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh and dried eggs, meat, poultry, fish, milk and cheese, pasta products, and cereal.

As south central Indiana heads into the cold weather months, local food pantries will need more warm or hot foods.

“When I’m ordering, I’m careful to see what type of soup I can get at the least cost,” Johnson said. “When its cold outside, people want soups and, as my grandmother called it, food that will stick to your ribs.”

The Salvation Army also works to maintain a good supply of fresh produce for their clients, she added.

In Hope, community support is evident at the food pantry at the Community Center.

“… I’m telling you our community is amazing,” center administrative assistant Ashley Mack said. “They step up and give when they can. They support us.”

In 2020, during the beginning of the pandemic, the Hope Town Council voted to provide the food bank $1,000 a month from January through March. In addition, the council assigned a liaison to the food bank to keep up to date if additional money should later be provided.

The biggest contributor to the food pantry on Hope’s Washington Street is Gleaners’s Food Bank of Indiana, Mack said. She praised the Indianapolis-based food bank for working to keep food costs down and examining different avenues of obtaining food.

But she also praised those who work in agriculture that are spread across Flat Rock and Hawcreek townships.

“Most of our local farmers know about us,” Mack said. “And if they don’t, they will reach out and show up with produce as soon as they discover us.”

In addition, congregations of several northeast Bartholomew County churches step forward to do more than their share in feeding the less fortunate.

With a variety of resources and a smaller population, Mack said the food pantry in Hope has only seen a slight increase in patrons while the supermarket prices kept climbing.

“There have been a couple of times where I’ve had to go to Amazon to get some things,” Mack said. “That was when we had more restrictions at local supermarkets because items were flying off the shelves.”

The Community Center of Hope anticipates more people will become aware of their food pantry and utilize it as the community moves into the holiday season.

More info

What food items are most needed by local food pantries? The following list was compiled by ‘Feeding Indiana’s Hungry’, a state food bank association.

Peanut butter

Canned soups and stews

Canned fruits and vegetables

Canned fish

Canned beans

Pasta and rice

Food banks and pantries ask contributors to only donate food that has not yet reached its “sell-by” date.