Posted: 8:00 a.m.Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015

Demand for food donations at local pantries increases

By Rick McCrabb and Michael D. Pitman

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

Localfood pantry operators say after years of increasing demand for their services —a product of the Great Recession — the level of need in area communities isbeginning to level off.

Thousandsof Butler Countyresidents utilize the food pantries in the region, mostly to supplement theirincome, said Tina Osso, executive director of the Shared Harvest FoodBank in Fairfield. In the foodbank’s five-county service area, which includes Butler, Darke, Miami, Prebleand Warren counties, around 12 million meals are missed in any given year, shesaid.

Beforethe recession hit in 2007, Shared Harvest had collected between 2.5 million to3.5 million pounds of food. Today, the food bank collects more than 7.4 millionpounds of food annually and delivers every can and box to pantries in itsregion, Osso said.

Thoughthere are signs the increased demand is leveling off — there’s beensingle-digit demand over the last three fiscal quarters as opposed to doubledigit increases — the current demand is the new normal.

“Idon’t think we’ll ever see, we’ll ever go back down to that pre-recession levelbecause, although we’re in a recovery, what we’re seeing is the jobs that arebeing created are not paying a livable wage,” Osso said.

Shesaid around 70 percent of those in line at food pantries have a job, thoughmost are part-time.

Peoplemust financially qualify for charitable food distribution, which is double thepoverty level. A family of four earning a combined income of $24,250 is at thepoverty level, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.According to Policy Matters Ohio, there are several occupational groups basedon median wage and annual pay that qualify for food service assistance. Thoseworking in the food service industry, on average, are living below the povertylevel.

“Nolonger is it true that if you work hard enough you’ll be able to supportyourself and your families. It really is the luck of the draw,” she said.

Morethan 156,000 families were helped by 51 pantries Shared Harvest supports, whichincludes thousands of families in Butler County. But the typicalfamily, or person, seeking the additional help is anything but typical.

“Hungerinvaded neighborhoods where its face had not been seen before,” Osso said ofpantry clientele post-recession. “We had people living in half a million,quarter of a million dollar houses who were standing in line at food pantries.”

Manyof those one-time high-income earners may be working again, but they aren’tearning nearly as much as they once were, she said.

“Eventhough they maybe be able to make their mortgage payments, they may be able topay their utilities, they’re still depending on charitable food to help makeends meet,” said Osso. “This is a world where only having ketchup and mustardin your refrigerator doesn’t even warrant a comment anymore because that’s theway you live your life, that’s the way life is.”

Thatincludes parents skipping meals to ensure children have enough to eat.

“That’sjust part of the strategy to make ends meet,” she said.

FairfieldFood Pantry served more than 8,000 people in 2014, the most served since thepantry opened in 1997 and nearly triple the number of those served in 2007.

Single-parentand fractured families often use the Fairfieldpantry, and many of those households are led by single mothers, said JudyDirksen, who co-founded the pantry with her husband, Howard.

Ossoadded that pantry patrons typically live in multi-generational households whereparents with young children have moved in with their parents.

“Morepeople are living in one household,” she said.

Becausethe demand is so great, Dirksen said this year the Fairfield pantry could equal itsrecord-breaking number of people helped in 2014.

“Jobsare available but do not pay enough to house and feed a family,” she said.

TheMiddletown Area Salvation Army food pantry served 5,200 Middletown households and 14,000 residentslast year. Maj. Sebastian Leonardi said demand remains high because of thenumber of low-income families living in the community and those with mental anddrug issues. He said the demand increases toward the end of every month, andthe same clients are using the pantry on a more regular basis.

“It’sa problem,” Leonardi said. “We are doing the best job possible and trying to befair to everyone. It’s complicated. We want to provide the best servicepossible.”

Demandfor services also is high at Middletown Family Service, said Maurice Maxwell,executive director. He estimated that the agency is serving about 5 percentmore clients than last year. Most of their clients are in the 24- to54-year-old category who are chronically in poverty or working lower-payingjobs, he said.

Theagency served 17,393 households and 36,791 individuals in 2014. Maxwell said individualsare permitted to receive food from the agency once every 30 days, and onaverage the agency served families five times last year.

MikeSamoviski, president of the board for Hamilton’sOpen Door Food Pantry, said last year was the pantry’s busiest year in recenttimes. The pantry typically serves around 1,800 approved clients a month.

“Overthe last couple of years, we have been very busy, especially with the downturnin the economy and people having lost employment,” he said. “This year thingsare pretty much at the same (2014) level. It has gone up over the last coupleof years, and we now have over 2,000 clients on average each month.”

LOCAL PANTRIES

Donateto any of the local food pantries in the region. For on online searchabledatabase of food pantries, visitFoodPantries.org.Here is a partial list of some area food pantries:

·                      Middletown Family Service: open from 9 to 11:30a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Monday andWednesday, and 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at 1311 Columbia Ave.

·                      The Middletown Area Salvation Army: 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to3 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1914 First Ave.

·                      Fairfield Food Pantry: Noon to 3 p.m.Tuesday and Thursday, 1085 Magie Ave.

·                      Hamilton’s Open Door Food Pantry: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.Monday through Wednesday, Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and every thirdSaturday from 2 to 4 p.m., 800 S. Front St.

HOW TO HELP

TheJournal News Shared Harvest Food Relief has raised $2,272 during kick off weekof the campaign.

Pleasevisit www.journal-news.com/foodrelief to make an online contribution. The foodbank helps pantries in a five-county area, and every dollar donated helpsprovide seven meals.

·                      Envelopes will be in the Journal-News that will be in thefollowing Sunday editions: Nov. 29, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20

·                      Visit www.Journal-News.com/FoodRelief for online giving

·                      Send a check payable to Shared Harvest/CFR to 5901 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, OH 45014-4207