Nonprofits continue to combat food insecurity
As the number of people receiving assistance remains significantly higher than in years past, Butler County nonprofits continue to put food on the tables of those who need it.
The network of food pantries, community dinners and food recovery programs dealt with the surge in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they serve those who struggle due to high inflation, which has driven consumer prices to some of the highest levels since 1981.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, 12.8% of all U.S. households were considered food insecure in 2022.
“My gut tells me as long as inflation stays high and wages don’t keep pace, food insecurity is going to continue to be an issue in Butler County,” said Sandra Curry, executive director of Community Partnership, which provides 28 food pantries in Butler County with supplies. “Coupled with the increases in everything else — rent, insurance, utilities — it’s going to continue to be an issue for those living on fixed incomes.”
Curry said there is a disconnect between who uses food pantries and the perception of who uses them.
“Butler County unemployment levels are low,” she said. “The folks using the food pantries aren’t people who are unemployed. They’re simply struggling to make ends meet, and they have to make choices about where their income is going.”
When the partnership took control of managing the food bank in 2022, it consistently fed 2,000 to 4,000 people each month. However, since February 2023, those numbers significantly increased to more than 15,000 people per month in September and October before sliding to about 10,000 in December. January’s numbers aren’t yet available, but Curry said she believes it will be about 10,000.
Curry said she suspects that an expansion of the income qualifications for food through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the likely cause behind the decrease from 15,000 to 10,000, which is still much higher than the 2022 and early 2023 numbers. The food bank does not have income eligibility rules, she added.
Butler County residents who wish to use the food pantry must enroll at one of the 28 food pantry locations. A list of each location is available on the partnership’s website at yourcapinfo.org. Once registered, residents can use their local food pantry, or one of three larger pantries open to anyone in the county, Curry said.
The partnership isn’t the only local organization battling food insecurity in the region. The Lighthouse Foundation, at 116 Browns Hills Road in Middlesex Township, offers a food pantry accessible to any Butler County resident.
Founded in 1985, the foundation is a Christian outreach organization meeting the needs of impoverished individuals and families in northern Allegheny and Butler counties.
“Our mission is to encourage others to find hope in Christ by meeting their immediate needs and empowering them toward self-sufficiency,” said Victoria Spreng, the foundation’s executive director. “For almost 38 years, we have met people right where they are, just like Jesus meets us and helps provide for their immediate needs.”
Food insecurity is not a new concept, Spreng said. The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the severity of the issue.
“And the need for food continues to grow,” she said.
The food pantry at Lighthouse is open four days a week. Hours of operation are: 1 to 4 p.m. Monday, 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to noon Thursday.
“There are no income requirements,” Spreng said. “Only a self-declaration answer on the registration forms. Recipients can come to the pantry twice a month for an order, except in December, which is only once.”
New recipients must go through a registration process that requires them to provide a photo identification, a piece of mail associated with their current address, and information on anyone else living in the household.
Joe Franciscus, the Lighthouse Foundation’s pantry director, said the demand for food is the greatest he has seen during his four years with the food pantry.
“The cost of everything is so much more now,” he said. “Those who were right on the cusp of not needing to use the food pantry has changed, and even those who were OK financially have needed to start using our pantry just to make ends meet.”
Visitors to the pantry can find fresh produce, canned goods, meat, frozen food and bakery items. People with specific dietary restrictions — gluten-free, sugar-free, heart-healthy diets — can find those items as well.
Community volunteers play a large role in keeping the pantry open and serving others, said Lee Ann Hune, the foundation’s volunteer coordinator.
“It takes an average of 12 volunteers each day to run the pantry,” she said. “Since we are open four days a week, it would take away staff on each of those days to serve. We would not be able to serve clients twice a month, being open four days a week year-round.”
Another way Butler County families experiencing food insecurity are helped is through the food recovery nonprofit 412 Food Rescue. The organization “rescues” food that would otherwise end up in waste bins and redistributes it to food pantries in its service area, which includes Butler County.
“Forty percent of food produced ends up as waste, even though it’s perfectly viable,” said Josh Weiland, senior director of distribution for 412 Food Rescue. “Whether it’s because it doesn’t look pretty enough or is getting close to its sell-by date, we take that food and redistribute it to nonprofits to allow it to reach people in the community who need it most.”
The organization has 300 active nonprofits it distributes food to that still need more than it can provide. It’s an issue he and his colleagues continue to work to resolve.
“Food insecurity is a logistics problem that’s solvable,” he said. “The amount of food that’s wasted would be more than enough to feed those in need if it was distributed appropriately. So, that’s the question we keep asking. How can we, as a country, work to bridge that gap and make that food available to recipients?”
To learn more about 412 Food Rescue, visit its website at 412foodrescue.org.
This article first appeared in the January edition of Butler County Business Matters.
