Food banks in the county and in neighboring areas have, not surprisingly, been busy in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While several in the county noted the number of people utilizing their services has decreased, this is primarily because there has been an increase in the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

In other words, many of your neighbors are still in need.

The nonprofit food bank organization Feeding America noted earlier this year that about 6 billion meals were distributed across the United States to those facing hunger in 2020, and as many as four in 10 people visited food banks for the first time — primarily due to the pandemic.

The nonprofit also found that food banks were serving 55% more people during the pandemic than before it, and about one in eight Americans were likely to face hunger in 2021.

The good news in recent months is the pandemic is mostly fading away. But economic hardships remain for many people and, in turn, so do issues of food insecurity.

In the past 14 months, the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources estimates that it has handed out 500,000 pounds of food in Butler County. Income requirements relating to food pantries that were suspended by Gov. Tom Wolf during the pandemic have been reinstated, meaning that some who were using pantries during the pandemic are now using SNAP benefits.

So, while some county organizations — such as Slippery Rock’s Feed My Sheep Food Pantry — report a decrease in usage due to an increase in SNAP benefits or the availability of drive-up food distributions, others — such as the Southwest Butler County Food Cupboard — note the number of people using its pantry remains steady.

There are still many people in the county who need your help.

We’re glad — but not surprised — to report that food pantry operators attribute much of their success to the generosity of county residents.

“We’ve got the most generous community, I think, in the whole country,” Feed My Sheep coordinator Carol Lambert said.

Erin Makowski, director of Southwest Butler County Food Cupboard, said one woman responded to a request for donations on social media by dropping off 100 jars of spaghetti sauce.

This is wonderful to hear — and we hope county residents continue to display such generosity even though the pandemic appears to be winding down. Its effects will be long felt, and there are many people who are still struggling as a result of it.

— NCD