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Food pantries get less commodities from government Posted: Thursday, Aug 26, 2004 - 03:23:38 pm PDT By KATHERINE HEAD Bigfork Eagle
Due to an increase in need coupled with a decrease in supplemental government commodities, area food pantries may be in for a tough winter. The food selection offered to the food banks from the government has waned, according to Flathead Food Bank Director Robin Layton. The Flathead Food Bank submits the order to the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP), and distributes the food to the five satellite pantries in the county."Resources for food have dramatically dropped, but need is on the rise," Layton explained. "When I first started working here, what we ordered is what we got. Now food prices have gone up and so the government cannot provide as much." Every month, the state sends a form to area food banks listing available commodities. The list varies from month to month. The food bank places their order and "what we get is what we get." Layton said meat is one of the top three products clients request from the food bank. "We are a private organization, not a state agency," she said. The number of families using the food bank's services is increasing. Layton reported that there were 150 more families accessing the food bank and pantries this June versus June of 2003. "Costs are going up," she said. "People are just struggling. It's really hard." Layton said she does not predict any relief in the immediate future. "Right now I cannot see a huge change coming our way," she said. "If summer was this busy, I'm just holding my breath to see what this winter will be like." According to Bigfork Food Pantry co-director Sue Stuber, the pantry has not received meat for about three months from government commodities. Even though the pantry "doesn't even get close to the order on our wish list," from the government Stuber said "our pantry is better off than most." "Fortunately, Pam (Robinson) and I have always overstocked (meat) and summer is a slow time anyway, so we have enough to get us through September," Stuber said. The recent livestock auction at the Flathead County Fair also yielded a tremendous supply of meat from local benefactors. Lodgepole Inc. purchased a steer, a hog, and a lamb for the Bigfork Food Panty; and both Flathead Bank and Murer Construction provided a hog. The donors also provided funds to process the meat. "With the auction, we'll have enough to get us through the end of the year," Stuber said. Stuber added that local churches usually supply turkeys for the holidays. "Community support is the thing that keeps this pantry going," she noted. "Right now we're not hurting, it's what we're looking at in the future. With the tremendous community support we haven't been effected yet," Stuber explained. "But come September when there's no more jobs because all the tourists have left, that's when we see families coming in." To aid in that busy time, members of the Crossroads Church youth group will go door-to-door soliciting donations for the Bigfork Food Pantry on September 11. "My goal is 1,000 pounds," organizer Susan Taylor said. "I don't know if we can get that amount, but it's what I'd like to deliver to the pantry." The decline in government commodities, especially meat, can be partially attributed to rising cost of livestock and food products. According to Food Distribution Section Chief Forest Farris, the state of Montana gets an entitlement from the federal government to purchase food products based on census, unemployment rates, and socio-economic statistics. He said there have been no cuts to the commodities program money wise. He blames rising costs for the decline of food availability. For example, the dramatic increase in the cost of ground beef has contributed to putting the agency over its entitlement. The state buys meat by the truckload, and the cost for 40,000 pounds of ground beef in a truckload costs nearly $71,000. Farris said in the last year, one and a half truckloads of beef, one truck of chickens, and one and a fourth trucks of turkey breasts have been used. Montana receives a $394,000 entitlement for food products a year. With this, the state typically obtains canned goods and frozen meat. Farris said the state has run out of meat products until the next fiscal quarter at the end of September. He expects to be able to acquire another truckload of chickens and two-thirds a truckload of beef to last until the end of the year. In the past, the state has only had to acquire two truckloads of ground beef and one truck of chickens a year. "We're seeing a lot more demand and a lot of that has to do with the rising cost of living," Farris said. "Many of the people who have worked hard to stay away from this service are now having to seek aid." The state provides supplemental food to 80 food banks and 85 soup kitchens or charitable institutions. Despite the rise in need, next year's entitlement will be the same, Farris said. "I'm looking at how should we be spending our entitlement? How can we better serve with the limited entitlement we have? There is a lot of demand for a limited amount of money," he said. Bonus items help to fulfill the need. Food products are purchased by the government in order to stabilize a particular agricultural market. For instance, asparagus and orange juice have been recent bonus items. Community support is also key to the success of any food bank. "Community support is vital to local food banks and pantries. It's really the life blood," Farris said. The Bigfork Food Pantry is located in the Chrysler and Gordon building at Highway 35 and Village Lane. The pantry is open on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 10 a.m., to 2 p.m. For more information, call 837-2297. Food and monetary donations can be dropped off at the pantry, or funds can be sent to P.O. Box 850, Bigfork, Mont., 59911. There is also a food bank bin located at Lakehills IGA.
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