Food insecurity countywide
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
Statistics compiled by Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, show the rate of food insecurity in area children closely resembles state and national averages of 1 in 6 children. However, the estimated rate of around 1 in 10 people countywide facing food insecurity fares better than the state and national estimates of 1 in 8 people.
“These people are our neighbors. These are families who have children who receive meals at school, but when they get home, it may not be as consistent that kids are eating dinner,” said Beth Burrell, communications and public relations manager for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
The regional food bank provides 34 million meals monthly to residents living in 11 southwestern Pennsylvania counties, including Butler County. Local food banks and partner agencies in Butler County distributed more than 1.2 million meals to individuals and families during fiscal year 2014-15. In January 2016 alone, local agencies served 7,734 individuals and families living in Butler County.
According to Burrell, children and the elderly garner the most attention when it comes to food insecurity.
Thankfully, backpack programs in area school districts have helped meet some children's nourishment needs. For more than 15 years, the Feeding America Backpack Program has helped put nutritious and easy-to-prepare food in the hands of children to ensure they get enough to eat on the weekends. Today, bags of food are assembled and distributed to more than 450,000 children at the end of every week, including youth in Butler County.
“Just in general, we saw a need with the kids,” said Kim Thomas, founder of the Butler School District Kids' Weekend Backpack Program. “Some of the kids were coming into school hungry.”
Thomas said the current program helps 360 children in kindergarten through grade four at six elementary schools. Currently funded completely by donations, she said the group hopes to continue expanding the program.
“It shows them they have a community that's caring for them,” Thomas said. “We want them to have a sense of community and that we're all there for them.”
Janine Kennedy with the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources said her company is subcontracted by the county to manage the Butler County Food Bank.
She said most, if not all, of Butler County's nine school districts have weekend food backpack programs. However, she pointed out that not all programs serve high school students.
Hundreds of Butler County families look to food pantries for help each week. Kennedy said the county food bank receives supplies weekly from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Volunteers assemble the food into smaller packages and distribute those to 26 partner agencies throughout Butler County.
She said they typically need to stretch the food as much as possible, and many families may go underserved. “Typically, the food we give out supplements. It's really only meant to be a day or two worth of food,” Kennedy said. “It's mainly meant to get them over that hump.”
Kennedy said individuals and families register with area distribution centers to help the county track demand. She said the highest serving food pantries are St. Vincent DePaul in Butler, where around 1,100 families are registered; the Lighthouse Foundation in Butler, which provides food to more than 300 families weekly; and Feed My Sheep in Slippery Rock, which helps about 250 families.
Carol Lambert, coordinator of Feed My Sheep, said unlike much of the county, her pantry sees mostly seniors and individuals. She added that seniors, especially, struggle because a third of their income goes to pay housing costs, and they still need to buy food and clothes.“They do not all come every month. Out of that (250 registered participants), only 33 are a family of five or more,” Lambert said. “Primarily, our customers are seniors who are trying live off $750 per month.”The county profile compiled by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank estimates that 19,280 of Butler County's 187,100 residents face food insecurity daily, 3,230 more than the 16,050 living in poverty. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, poverty guidelines in the United States range from an annual income of $12,490 for one person to $43,430 for a family of eight.According to Kennedy, job loss and single parenthood are the biggest reasons reported to ANR about need in local communities.Scott Dittman of Karns City, who manages the Facebook group Helping Butler County, said it may be important to break down the demographics of need even further than the county.Dittman said the region from Butler City and north presents the most need.“I'd be shocked if it was even close,” Dittman said. “Just the eye test tells you there's more business and a more vibrant economic landscape (in the south).”Dittman said there are numerous scenarios that cause food insecurity, adding that the problem is still present in the southern part of the county, but could carry a stigma for people. “Socially, it could be harder in the southern part of the county,” Dittman said. “There's a different social edge to it that cuts a different way.”Dittman said his group focuses on developing and supporting local programs, but his real goal is to reach people with multiple means of support at once.“We're looking to battle things through process,” Dittman said. “What we're doing is trying to intermesh our resources better. If they need help getting food, they probably need help with other things too.”He said food pantries and community dinners are the perfect opportunity to promote more than just food insecurity programs. He said helping someone with only their food insecurity problem is the same as treating a symptom without addressing the underlying causes.“There's an image of what food insecurity looks like. It's probably young and downtrodden,” Dittman said. “You don't know walking down the street who had suitable sustenance for breakfast or who will get enough to eat before bed.”
