Grand Rapids (WZZM) - The sliding economy is hurting families around West Michigan and the food pantries that are in place to help. Some pantries are seeing so much more demand they are not able to meet the need.
The ACCESS food pantry network served 1,000 more families in October of 2008 than October of 2007. And that demand just keeps growing.
Terri Burkholder is the new face of hunger. She is a working, single mom who is using her lunch hour to pick up food at the North End Community Ministries food pantry. She has to because money is so tight. Burkholder says, "Tight to the point where I'm about losing my home. That's working 40 hours a week. I try to work the overtime at work. I have an ex-husband that didn't pay child support. So, that's where I'm at."
North End Executive Director Laura Castle is seeing about 20% more clients. Castle says, "It isn't just people who are on assistance, and Medicaid or food stamps. It's also people that have worked jobs for many years."
Right now, the food pantries have the food to meet demands. But, Marsha DeHollander of the ACCESS food pantry network is worried. She says, "It feels a little like panic, and some fear. We know that lines are long. Food pantries are closing, having to turn people away. And that's something that we've not done in the past."
Food pantries depend on donations more than ever. Second Harvest Gleaners, which gets donations from food companies to redistribute to pantries, received a donation of almost 1,200 pounds of beef, and some coats and blankets on Friday. It's thanks to a matching donation program through D&W Fresh Markets. Gleaners Executive Director John Arnold explains, "Our distribution is up about a million pounds from a year ago. Every month we are setting new records. So we're just constantly scrambling, trying to find sufficient food to keep ahead of that."
Single mother Terri Burkholder is doing the same thing, at her kitchen table. She says, "We live on a lot of eggs and bread and milk, and cereal."
The ACCESS food pantry network is in the midst of taking applications for Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. Already, they have about 1,000 more applicants than at the same time last year. And they are worried about being able to meet that need as well.
If you need help, you can call the United Way's 211 help line to find the food pantry nearest you. If you can donate and want to give a holiday food basket, call ACCESS at (616) 459-2625.
In your voice
