Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks Nationwide

[babylonsister]

Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks Nationwide

James Estrin/The New York Times

Cindy Dreeszen and her husband Alex Orejuela and their son Matthew at the Interfaith Food Pantry in Morristown, N.J.

By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: February 19, 2009


MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Once a crutch for the most needy, food pantries have responded to the deepening recession by opening their doors to what Rosemary Gilmartin, who runs the Interfaith Food Pantry here, described as “the next layer of people” — a rapidly expanding roster of child-care workers, nurse’s aides, real estate agents and secretaries facing a financial crisis for the first time.

Demand at food banks across the country increased by 30 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to a survey by Feeding America, which distributes more than two billion pounds of food every year. And instead of their usual drop in customers after the holidays, many pantries in upscale suburbs this year are seeing the opposite.

Here in Morris County, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, the Interfaith pantry opened for an extra night last week to accommodate the growing crowds. Among the first-time visitors were Cindy Dreeszen and her husband, who both have steady jobs — his at a movie theater and hers at a government office — with a combined annual income of about $55,000.

But with a 17-month-old son, another baby on the way, and, as Ms. Dreeszen put it, “the cost of everything going up and up,” the couple showed up in search of free groceries.

“I didn’t think we’d even be allowed to come here,” said Ms. Dreeszen, 41, glancing at shelves of fruit, whole-wheat pasta and baby food. “This is totally something that I never expected to happen, to have to resort to this.”

In Lake Forest, Ill., a wealthy Chicago suburb, a pantry in an Episcopal church that used to attract people from less affluent towns nearby has lately been flooded with people who have lost jobs. In Greenwich, Conn., a pantry organizer reported a “tremendous” increase in demand for food since December, with out-of-work landscapers and housekeepers as well as real estate professionals who have not made a sale in months filling the line.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/nyregion/20food.html?_r=3

[leftstreet]

1. “the next layer of people”

n/t

[cliffordu]

2. I wonder where the bottom is really going to be....

How much money do you have to have to be immune from falling into the food bank???

[CountAllVotes]

3. it happened to me once

income was about $500 a month; rent was $400.

It sucked sooooooo bad!

:dem: :kick:

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Thank you for posting this ...

... I followed the link in your OP and found this:

Surplus production, once a major source of food for food banks, is now often sold to overseas markets. There manufacturers can get more than the value of the tax deduction of a charitable donation. This and other factors are forcing some food centers to turn away the hungry.

--New York Times

[Ocracoker16]

5. You have to wonder what will happen when the economy gets worse

The problem wtith Food Banks is that they don't require you to fill out any paperwork to demonstrate that your need is great enough to warrant your use of food banks. The article talks a lot about the "next layer of people" who have never gone to food banks before this recent economic crisis. Some of these people have donated to food banks before and now they are on the receiving end. I am concerned that people who are truly starving are going to be getting less from the food banks, because there are many people from the next layer who are taking food to supplement the groceries they can afford.

Unfortunately, we probably have not hit the lowest point yet so there is good reason to worry that the food banks won't be able to keep up. Will food banks be forced to abandon their practice of giving food to everyone who shows up and instead have to create a process for determining who the neediest are. There is evidence that some of the people who are new to food banks could get by if they stopped living beyond their means and gave up some of their luxuries. I think that people need to learn to live fugally in all aspects of their life so that they don't consume food that they don't need and food that others desperately need.

[babylonsister]

7. Soup kitchens? I don't know how far this will go, but

the prospects are frightening.

[tyedyeto]

6. Our local food bank has seen record numbers of people seeking assistance.....

while donations of both food and monetary donations have dropped considerably.

An organization I am involved with is having an aggressive food bank drive and hopefully that will help with those in need. It may not solve all problems but if some families can have a few extra meals it will be worth the effort.