The numbers of low-income Ohioans turning to food pantries for help are climbing. And with signs of trouble for the economy on the horizon, advocates at Ohio's 12 regional foodbanks and the hundreds of food pantries and soup kitchens that they serve are worried.
There鈥檚 a line of people waiting outside the All People鈥檚 Fresh Market on the south side of Columbus before it opens.
Among those customers is John Hairston, who said he visits this food pantry once or twice a week. And he鈥檚 noticed an increase in the number of people who鈥檝e joined him in the line.
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably a combination of joblessness, having some hard times or whatever the case may be. You know, circumstances can just provide opportunity every now and then where things go bad and then somebody else has a compliment and things go good,鈥� Hairston said.
And has he seen a lot of people he doesn鈥檛 know, people who could be first-timers at this pantry? 鈥淵eah, yeah I have,鈥� he responded.
This food pantry is unique 鈥� it offers fresh fruits and vegetables so customers can use their food stamp or SNAP benefits for other things at grocery stores. Those customers choose their items and then walk around to a wall of refrigerators with dairy products, juice, hummus, yogurt and coleslaw.
And before they leave they鈥檒l walk by Helen Morgan, who鈥檚 putting salad greens into plastic containers. She also shops at this food pantry, and she鈥檚 noticed the lines. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檇 be so busy you can鈥檛 keep up,鈥� she said.
And she said she also notices people she doesn鈥檛 recognize: 鈥淛ust about every day that I鈥檓 here, which I鈥檓 not here all time, but when I am here, I see a lot of new faces.鈥�
Manager Gary Stevens has the numbers to back up those claims of increases in customer traffic. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost doubling from when we opened a year and a half ago,鈥� he said.
The All People鈥檚 Fresh Market was serving 300 households when it opened in February 2018. That鈥檚 grown to about 500 families a day. And increases are happening all over Ohio.
鈥淔or the period ending June 30, we broke another record. We were up 13.5% in the number of individuals served, 13.9% in the number of households served just over the prior year. So we鈥檙e just in food pantries alone, over 2.3 million Ohioans,鈥� said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, the executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks.
Hamler-Fugitt said it鈥檚 a math problem - incomes are not rising as fast as the costs of basic needs are. Temporary and contingent jobs aren鈥檛 full time jobs with guaranteed hours and benefits. And higher housing, health and child care, and transportation costs are taking bigger chunks out of their earnings 鈥� and emergencies or sudden expenses can be devastating. And she notes SNAP participation has fallen to one of its lowest levels 鈥� and some who don鈥檛 qualify for SNAP will seek out food banks for help.
Not all food pantries are serving more people. Dan Flowers is the president and CEO of the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank. He said the numbers there have been steady. But he notes while unemployment is at 4% 鈥� the lowest it鈥檚 been in almost two decades 鈥� poverty is around 14%.
鈥淭he food pantries and soup kitchens and food banks in this state are like a bucket brigade on a five alarm house fire. Any maybe it鈥檚 a four alarm house fire when unemployment goes down. But it doesn鈥檛 make the bucket brigade that much bigger,鈥� Flowers said.
And he鈥檚 worried with people struggling with poverty and food insecurity in a good economy, what will happen if there鈥檚 a downturn 鈥� which experts have said leading indicators are suggesting could be coming.
Hamler-Fugitt said she thinks that's already begun.
鈥淲hen we looked at the numbers and saw the marked increase that we experienced in this past quarter, we started to go back to look at the quarters just prior to the Great Recession. And this is the trend that we began to see,鈥� Hamler-Fugitt said.
Back at the All People鈥檚 Fresh Market, the line is dying down a bit. Michael Premo is helping out 鈥� he鈥檚 with the Church for All People across the street, which runs this food pantry.
鈥淲e鈥檙e able to do what we can to provide for folks to help them stabilize. But if there鈥檚 a downturn, there鈥檚 going to be a lot more help needed. We鈥檙e doing our part here on the South Side, but we鈥檙e going to need state and federal government to step up,鈥� Premo said.
Hamler-Fugitt also said there鈥檚 been less fresh food for some operations to offer, as heavy rains and flooding hit Ohio farmers with one of the worst growing seasons on record.
Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
