The pandemic is driving meals insecurity within the area to new ranges and reworking aid efforts

By jimadmin On Dec 17, 2020

Giving or receiving help
Food banks in southwest Pennsylvania saw increased demand in 2020. Further information:
Allegheny Valley Association of Churches: 724-226-0606
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank: 412-460-3663; pittsburghfoodbank.org
Westmoreland County Food Bank: 1-800-462-2080; westmorelandfoodbank.org

40 minutes ago

Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the region, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. The region’s food banks have responded by redoubling their efforts and facing new challenges.

Food banks have served large numbers of first-time beneficiaries this year due to pandemic restrictions that are putting many American breadwinners out of work or shortening their working hours.

Food Bank Network Feeding America says this year may end with hunger affecting 50 million people across the country, including more than 17 million children, due to the pandemic. In an October survey by Danone North America’s Two Good Yogurt and OnePoll, 40% of respondents said that covid-19 contributed to their first experiences with food insecurity.

This phenomenon is being felt in Westmoreland County. “During the year, initial visits had increased compared to previous years,” said Jennifer Miller, executive director of Westmoreland County Food Bank, a Feeding America participant with headquarters near Delmont and a network of 44 local pantries.

“Most of the people we saw didn’t earn a living wage,” Miller said. “Their hours have been cut or they have lost their jobs. Your families are really affected. ”

Miller said demand for monthly and emergency food aid increased this year during the pandemic. When it hit a monthly high of around 9,500 serviced households, “it has calmed down since the spring,” most recently at around 7,500 serviced households, she said.

One of the organization’s services in high demand is the federally funded senior box program, which provides income-entitled residents aged 60 and over with a monthly box of additional food.

“We saw a lot of seniors wanting to join the program,” Miller said. “I think it was this fear of the virus. It was so easy to get this food and not have to go out that much. ”

There is a waiting list as the funding is a maximum of 1,326 boxes per month.

Official recommendations to stay home as a pandemic precaution led the Duquesne-based Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to roll out a home delivery service ahead of schedule.

“That was a direct response to the pandemic,” said Lisa Scales, president of the food bank. “We recognized the importance of home delivery, especially for the elderly and people with limited mobility.”

In response to inquiries made through the food bank’s website or call center, volunteers made 14,000 deliveries in the first seven months of this new program.

The combination of pandemic problems and the rapidly growing need for food aid has transformed the Greater Pittsburgh Bank’s services in other ways.

The food bank, which works with more than 300 partner organizations, has distributed more than 30 million pounds of food to those in need in a coverage area with 11 counties since March. This corresponds to a 42% increase in regional food insecurity.

“Some of our pantries have seen increases of up to 50%,” said Scales.

Many distributions have switched to drive-through events in order to establish limited or no contact between volunteers and recipients. First-hand observations of some of these events have taught Scales the far-reaching impact of the pandemic on food insecurity.

“A week and a half ago I was at a distribution in Wilkinsburg,” said Scales on Wednesday. “I’ve spoken to 20-25 people and each of them was unemployed or someone in their household was unemployed.

“Some of them have health problems. A woman has stage 4 cancer. She is scared of going to the grocery store and has no family to help her. The food bank is their only source of food. ”

The increasing number of inquiries to the food bank’s call center made it necessary to double the number of staff assigned to it from two to four. “We are in the process of hiring a fifth person,” said Scales.

According to Scales, the food bank has added at least 125 new partner organizations to its network – including local veterans groups and vocational training programs – that lack pantries but act as bridges to get the groceries they need into their customers’ hands.

“We will keep them in our network and continue to expand this program,” she said.

The Allegheny Valley Association of Churches offers programs for those in need in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Karen Snair, executive director, says the company participates in large monthly drive-thru grocery distributions at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer, where the number of recipients has grown from about 500 households last summer to well over 600 this month.

“It was closed for registration four days before the event,” said Snair due to growing demand.

An additional weekly drive-through pantry in the association’s Natrona Heights headquarters serves around 400 people and attracts many senior citizens.

Due to precautionary measures against pandemics, the association can no longer use its 15-passenger van to take residents of senior housing buildings to the pantry. Instead, volunteers have volunteered to provide food to the elderly.

“We’ll get the food exactly where you are,” said Snair. “The (recipient) numbers have increased since we started.”

Donations, volunteers needed

Fortunately, food banks in the area report that donations to help them keep going have increased again this year.

“The community has really grown,” said Snair. She used a $ 500 grant from a state brokerage group to purchase groceries, including bread, that were not available through the regional network of food banks.

The Westmoreland County Food Bank recently received a $ 400 ground beef donation from 4-year-old Giavonna Coleman of Jeannette. It was a true example of the prepayment of luck when she got the meat through a prize card her grandfather bought in a raffle held by the Level Green Volunteer Fire Department.

“She said she wanted to feed the people who didn’t have enough food for the holidays,” Miller said. The meat will feed 100 families.

Greater Pittsburgh Bank says it can convert a $ 100 donation into 500 meals. “We are fortunate to have such a generous community in southwest Pennsylvania,” said Scales.

Where organizations are becoming scarce, it is manpower to keep up with the growing demand for food.

“We urgently need volunteers to help prepackage (food) boxes,” Miller said. “It’s more necessary than ever.”

Scales is in a similar situation as its food packaging operation in Greater Pittsburgh has expanded to a third shift.

Scales said it was a great honor to do the work we do every day. There is a lot of stress and anxiety that come with food insecurity. People don’t always know where their next meal is coming from.

“This helps stabilize their lives. It’s transformative. ”

Jeff Himler is a contributor to Tribune Review. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com, or on Twitter.

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Coronavirus | Local | Regional