July 11, 2001
Pantry shelves nearly bare
Summer busy time of year for food pantries
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Hunger is hunger, no matter the season.
Summer, winter, holidays, workdays, people are going hungry in the Grand Traverse region, noted area food pantry administrators. Many months from the holiday spirit of giving, food pantries are finding their shelves nearly bare at a time when demand goes up.
"We face almost a panic here because we can have as many as 80 families a day come in right now," said Father Thome, spiritual director of the Father Fred Foundation. "Our ordinary would be 50 people a day. Just before the Fourth of July, we could hardly get through our waiting room, it was wall to wall people."
Thome said summer is Father Fred Foundation food pantry's busiest time, especially early summer when an influx of agricultural works arrives, sometimes before the unpredictable crops are ready to harvest. These families can face a week or two in the area without any income coming in so they turn to food pantries for help. This is on top of area families, many working minimum wage service jobs, who often face choices between paying rent or utilities and buying food.
"We can serve at least 200 families a week giving food for each family member for two days," he said. "This time of year, we run out of donations of some things and have to buy them."
Val Stone keeps an eye on the big picture of hunger in the six-county region. A community services coordinator at the Northwest Michigan Human Services Agency and facilitator for the Northwest Michigan Food Coalition, she said the demand for food at regional pantries has continued to climb over the past few years. Even with the booming economy of the late 1990s and its low unemployment, individuals and families increasingly need help.
Throw in an economic slowdown plus last winter's fuel price increase and the problem becomes more acute, especially in the summer.
"People are playing catch up in the summer, trying to pay off the bills from last winter just so the companies will deliver fuel next winter," Stone said, noting the coalition includes 22 pantries in six counties.
Stone acknowledged that the community is generous with food donations, especially around the holidays. But in the summer, when the sun is shining and seasonal employment so high, it is easy to believe hunger is not a problem. The coalition is looking at how to increase community awareness of hunger year round and increase donations during high-demand summer months.
"Thanksgiving and Christmas are always well supported by the community but by January the shelves are starting to be bare again," Stone noted. "There's not a major food drive until May, with the postal carriers drive, and that food is long gone now."
Catherine Collins, coordinator at the Grace Episcopal Church's food pantry, also sees a summer rise in demand every year. The pantry has added an evening session during the summer for the past two years to accommodate the working individuals and families who need help.
A smaller pantry, Collins noted that they could provide food for up to 140 people per month during the summer, giving three days of food for each person. During the winter, they serve between 100-110 people a month.
"Summer is busier in our numbers and in the last few years there has been a steady trend upwards," she said. "There are a lot more people in town then and people come in to work at resorts or farms, many of those people need help."
What kinds of donations are needed in the summer (and anytime)? Chris Gibson, a pantry volunteer at the Father Fred Foundation, said macaroni and cheese, pork and beans, cereal and soup (not creamed soups) are best. Pancake mixes are nice to have but canned vegetables are one of the most-donated items and usually do not run out.
Gibson also noted that personal care items and paper products like soap, toothpaste, diapers, toilet paper and sanitary napkins are also needed.
"Food stamps does not pay for these," she said.