With the increase of unemployed citizens due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s understandable that many food pantries are seeing an increase in need since March. The Era touched base with several local food pantries to see just how the pandemic has affected their numbers and how they are doing regarding meeting increased demands.
Rev. Rebecca Harris, Deacon of St. John’s Episcopal Church, said the Kane Food Pantry, which operates once per month, saw 130 families in March — a definite increase over the 60 families they saw a prior month.
“This month (April) we have seen 160 families registered,” noted Harris. “We could have 170 or more families.”
Despite the increase in need, Harris said the pantry seems to be doing well with the amount of food they have available, noting they have received a lot of donations to help get them by.
“We’ve had generous donations from individuals and local businesses,” said Harris.
The pantry is asking people to pre-register for the food boxes so they know how many to prepare ahead of time. Aside from food distribution today, the next food pantry will be held on May 22.
While they are not currently accepting donations of canned goods at this time due to the pandemic, monetary donations are greatly appreciated. People can donate by sending a check to the church at P.O. Box 744, Kane, PA 16735.
For more information on distribution dates, visit the “Kane Area Food Pantry” Facebook page.
The Bradford Church of Ascension, which hosts the Second Harvest mobile food pantry every other month, has also seen a bit of an increase since March.
Rev. Stacey Fussell said they book for 100 households, providing around 40 pounds of food per box. Whatever is left over is typically donated to the Friendship Table.
“On March 18, we had 100 families pre-registered,” she explained. “We hit the 100 mark very easily and some ended up on the waiting list. We had a lot of families that are new because they wouldn’t have normally qualified.”
In order to be eligible for the mobile food pantry, a family has to be at 150% of the poverty level.
“The way the food pantry works, it doesn’t affect any other aid you receive,” noted Fussell. “We had a number of folks in March that had recently been furloughed or laid off.”
In light of the pandemic, the church is considering holding the food pantry more often.
“There has been conversation about trying to do it every month because there is going to be an increase in need in our community,” Fussell said.
The next mobile food pantry will be held on May 20. To pre-register, call the church at 814-368-8915.
In addition to the mobile food pantry, the church also holds a lunch every Thursday. The lunch is typically a family style dine-in meal, though due to the pandemic, they are currently offering the meals to-go.
“The number of guests has probably actually gone up,” Fussell said. “Probably before we had 35 to 45 guests; now we have about 45 to 55 guests.
She also wanted to remind people about replenishing the various “blessing boxes” around town with non-perishable goods and hygiene products.
“A lot of folks in the community will stock it and a little bit later it’s empty again,” she explained.
Vanessa Castano, executive director of the Bradford YWCA said they haven’t seen an increase of people using their food pantry yet, though this may change as restrictions are lifted.
“We haven’t seen an increase in services for our pantry,” she said. “I would have to anticipate that it has to do with the influx of support — there have been many donation drives and donations in general. We have a concern when restrictions are lifted though — who is employed and who will continue to be employed.”
The YWCA is not currently accepting donations such as clothing and housewares, though they are still accepting donations of food and monetary donations. Food donations can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“To make a monetary donation, they can always send a check, call and pay with a credit card or there is also a “donate now” button on the website,” added Castano.
