Food pantries serving more people than ever

In this post-COVID, high-inflation world, food pantries are assisting more people, from senior citizens to single parents, immigrants to average American families, than in recent memory.

The need is greater plus the “faces” have changed. Dedicated volunteers and food pantry leaders report serving more migrants, more elderly and more local people who have lived in the area for a long while but who never before needed access to the food pantry.

‘We could not possibly do what we do without the help of our community members’

Goshen, N.Y., resident Mary Sumter, who started the Goshen Ecumenical Food Pantry 30 years ago, said it is serving more people than ever.

“The demand has increased because groceries cost more money than ever before,” she said. “We have two distribution days a month, and we probably do 100-plus people a month.”

Sumter and members of the local churches and synagogue in Goshen first set up the pantry out of St. John’s African Union Methodist Protestant Church until more space was needed.

“When St. John’s became too small, we moved to the Methodist Church,” she explained. “We applied for government grants and combined with donated food and money from the churches and synagogue in Goshen, we were able to help out a lot of people. Some individuals even leave us money when they pass away.

“Our volunteers go to the food bank in Cornwall and bring food here to the pantry. I used to be the one who made sure everything was stocked right at the pantry, but now my daughter, Marcia, and other volunteers, adults, Girl Scouts, teenagers, students from BOCES take care of most of that.”

In fact, the Goshen High School Soccer Club raised close to $1,500 from a car wash and bake sale to pay for 100 pies shared earlier this month.

“We could not possibly do what we do without the help of our community members like stalwart John Strobl and the awesome students that show up each and every time to do some of the heavy lifting,” said volunteer Susan Armistead.

Sumter said they never turn away anyone looking for food but do ask for proof of residence in Goshen. If a client is from outside Goshen, they’re given a bag of food and a list of food pantries in their area.

Food Bank of the Hudson Valley

The food - canned goods, eggs, meat, yogurt and more - arrives in Goshen and many of the other local food pantries in Orange County from the Hudson Valley Food Bank, which is based largely out of Cornwall.

“The Regional Food Bank distributes 20 million pounds annually in Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Rockland, Sullivan and Putnam counties and there is a strong need for more,” said Regional Food Bank chief executive Tom Nardacci. Because the current facility cannot satisfy demand, the Hudson Valley Food Bank has launched a capital campaign to build a 40,000-square-foot distribution center in the Orange County village of Montgomery at a cost of about $23 million.

In Orange County, 31,090 people are considered food insecure, a rate of 7.8 percent.

‘Donations have not risen to meet the need’

Unlike the Goshen Ecumenical Pantry and so many others in the region, the Highland Mills, N.Y., Food Pantry, located in the basement of what is now the Discovery Church, is not associated with the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley and therefore has a different set of challenges.

The food pantry, which is more than three decades old, was started by the Highland Mills United Methodist Church Ladies Auxiliary and runs solely on donations (financial as well as food), said volunteer Sandy Capriglione.

“We are all volunteers and some shop for the pantry with financial donations received,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have the support of several groups who continue to organize food drives for us, including the Woodbury Lions Club, the Boy Scouts and recently the Catholic Daughters of the Americas - Court Mary 768 among others. Local event organizers, such as the First Responders 5K here in town, encouraged people to contribute food or funds for the pantry.”

Open Saturday mornings from 9 to 10, the volunteers at Highland Mills used to serve about 35 families a weekend. Capriglione estimates that number to be between 50 and 60 families today.

“On Fridays, two to three volunteers fill what we call staples bags to get ready for Saturday morning and we do the best we can do give people what they need: cereal, macaroni and cheese, soup, tuna fish, peanut butter and jelly, and a side dish of canned vegetables,” she said. “We also work with local grocery stores that donate breads and pastries.

Capriglione said she posts needed items on Facebook pages. They only ask for a name from those seeking assistance, not where they live. “A recent post provided a truthful status of how low we were running on funds and food donations, and our amazing community responded in a way that none of us could have imagined, and we are grateful!”

‘The only requirement is to be in need’

“Ever since 1985, we have done our best to feed anyone in need anywhere they live,” said Valerie Macchio, executive director and board president of the Sparta Community Food Pantry in Sussex County, N.J.

“Documentation is not required. The only requirement is to be in need. We believe that once you satisfy your hunger needs, you can figure out everything else. It all starts with solving hunger.”

Macchio said the all-volunteer operation works Wednesdays and Fridays and sees about 100 clients a day.

“In addition to working with our clients when they visit the pantry, we deliver to people who are chronically ill though a relationship with Atlantic Health Systems,” she said. ‘Churches ... help us get food out every week’

Since becoming director of the Ecumenical Food Pantry at Good Shepherd Church in Milford, Pa., Nancy Potter has seen her share of changes. “We have been around for 33 years, but I have only been director for 10, and since that time, we have added things like meat, fresh fruits and vegetables through our association with Second Harvest Food Bank in Nazareth,” she said. “They connect us with all sorts of places. They donate weekly, and ShopRite donates monthly and, of course, members of the community.”

“We are open on Fridays and usually serve about 65 families, but since September, it has been more like 85 families a week,” she said. “I believe the extra SNAP benefits due to COVID have stopped and that is causing this increase. Area churches like St. Patrick’s, St. Joe’s and the United Methodist Church help us get food out every week.”“We serve disabled individuals who cannot work, and the senior citizen numbers since I have taken over have gone from 9 percent to 22 percent. I think about 30 percent of our clients are children and the rest adults.”Demand, especially this fall, has skyrocketed, she said.

Food Bank of the Hudson Valley

The food – canned goods, eggs, meat, yogurt, etc. – arrives in Goshen and many of the other local food pantries in Orange County from the Hudson Valley Food Bank based largely out of Cornwall. The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley is a distribution location of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.

In 2022, the Food Bank served 110,818 households in Orange County, reaching 3,789,703 individuals. Of that amount, 77,762 were seniors and 256,349 were children.

However, according to Regional Food Bank CEO Tom Nardacci, they aren’t stopping there. The Hudson Valley Food Bank has launched a capital campaign to build a 40,000-square-foot distribution center in the Orange County Village of Montgomery at a cost of approximately $23 million to provide increased capacity to obtain, sort, store and distribute food donations in the region.

“The Regional Food Bank distributes 20 million pounds annually in Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Rockland, Sullivan and Putnam counties and there is a strong need for more,” said Nardacci. “Unfortunately, our current facility simply cannot satisfy this demand and we actually distribute 12 of the 20 million pounds from our main facility in Albany County. The Regional Food Bank is committed to addressing the meal gap that exists in all 23 counties in our service area. This new facility will significantly expand the organization’s capacity to combat food insecurity and alleviate hunger in New York State and directly serve six Hudson Valley counties.”

In Orange County, 31,090 people are considered food insecure, a rate of 7.8 percent. The statewide rate of 11.4 percent.

For more information on the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, located at call 845-534-5344 or visit foodbankofhudsonvalley.org/order-food.

Highland Mills, N.Y. ‘Donations have not risen to meet the need’

Unlike the Goshen Ecumenical Pantry and so many others in the region, the Highland Mills, N.Y., Food Pantry, located in the basement of what is now the Discovery Church, is not associated with the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley and therefor has a different set of challenges.

The food pantry, which has been around for more than three decades, was started by the Highland Mills United Methodist Church Ladies Auxiliary and runs solely by donations (financial as well as food), according to volunteer Sandy Capriglione.

“We are all volunteers and some shop for the pantry with financial donations received,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have the support of several groups who continue to organize food drives for us including the Woodbury Lions Club, the Boy Scouts and recently the Catholic Daughters of the Americas - Court Mary 768, amongst others. Local event organizers such as the First Responders 5K here in town encouraged people to contribute food or funds for the pantry.”

Open Saturday mornings from 9 to 10, the volunteers at Highland Mills used to serve about 35 families a weekend. Today, Capriglione estimates that number to be between 50 and 60 families.

“On Fridays, two to three volunteers fill what we call staples bags to get ready for Saturday morning and we do the best we can do give people what they need — cereal, macaroni and cheese, soup, tuna fish, peanut butter and jelly and a side dish of canned vegetables,” Capriglione said. “We also work with local grocery stores that donate breads and pastries.

“The person who unites us all and keeps our operation moving forward is Mary Ratkowski,” Capriglione added. ”While she exhibits a tough exterior, she truly has a heart of gold when it comes to helping people. For example, when a young family had a recent house fire and was put up in a hotel, they were able to contact Mary to get food. She is the glue that keeps us together. We remain hopeful when our funds and donations run low, because Mary believes in people and their compassion to help those in need.”

Capriglione, who said she posts needed items on the Families of Woodbury and Woodbury Connections Facebook pages, added that they only ask for a name from those seeking assistance.

“A recent post provided a truthful status of how low we were running on funds and food donations, and our amazing community responded in a way that none of us could have imagined, and we are grateful!”

For more information on the Highland Mills Food Pantry, located at 654 Route 32 in Highland Mills, contact Sandra Bock Capriglione on Facebook.

Sparta, N.J. ‘The only requirement is to be in need’

“Ever since 1985, we have done our best to feed anyone in need anywhere they live,” said Valerie Macchio, executive director and board president of the Sparta Community Food Pantry in Sparta, N.J. “Documentation is not required. The only requirement is to be in need. We believe that once you satisfy your hunger needs, you can figure out everything else. It all starts with solving hunger.”

Macchio says the all-volunteer operation works Wednesdays and Fridays and sees about 100 clients a day.

“In addition to working with our clients when they visit the pantry, we deliver to people who are chronically ill though a relationship with Atlantic Health Systems,” she said. “We are an approved partner so we serve those who are homebound with particular goods. “

Volunteers deliver food to the home-bound, providing bags of groceries assembled at the pantry by other volunteers. These groceries provide a balanced diet for up to a week. Delivery volunteers are in communication with the clients and/or with their support group to ensure the selections are appropriate.

Another aspect of Sparta is its association with Norwescap, one of the five major food banks in New Jersey.

According to its website, “Norwescap works to ensure that every individual and family in our region has access to adequate, healthy food and nutritional resources through our Food Bank and its partner network, along with our SNAP and WIC benefits assistance programs. At the same time, we support health and well-being by connecting people to medical screenings, vaccines, and other healthcare needs, and provide education and programming to support healthy lifestyles.”

“This means a lot to us because it ensures healthy, nutritional food for those who need it most,” Macchio said. “We work with Department of Agriculture and a food advocate and are inspected and have to follow rules and that is important food safety.”

For more information on the Sparta Community Food Pantry, located at 99 Demarest Road in Sparta, call 862-266-0563 or visit thespartacommunityfoodpantry.com.

Pike County, Pa. ‘Churches ... help us get food out every week’

Since becoming director at the Ecumenical Food Pantry at the Good Shepherd Church, located at 110 West Catharine St. in Milford, Nancy Potter has seen her share of changes.

“We have been around for 33 years but I have only been director for 10 and since that time we have added things like meat, fresh fruits and vegetables through our association with Second Harvest Food Bank in Nazareth,” Potter said. “They connect us with all sorts of places. They donate weekly and Shop Rite donates about monthly and of course members of the community.”

On the other hand, she says the demand, especially this fall, has skyrocketed.

“We are open on Fridays and usually serve about 65 families but since September it has been more like 85 families a week,” she said. “I believe the extra SNAP benefits due to COVID have stopped and that is causing this increase. Area churches like St. Patrick’s, St. Joe’s and the United Methodist Church help us get food out every week.”

However, it is more than that, Potter says.

“We serve disabled individuals who cannot work and the senior citizen numbers since I have taken over have gone from 9 percent to 22 percent. I think about 30 percent of our clients are children and the rest adults.”

Potter says that when clients come in, they need to show proof that they live in Pike County and tell the volunteers how many children they have.

“We used to ask to see birth certificates, but the federal government prevents that now,” she said.

She is optimistic about Thanksgiving and Christmas, saying last year, “we had some many turkeys, people were ‘turkeyed-out’ by January.”

For more information on the Ecumenical Food Pantry at Good Shepherd Church, call 570-296-8123 or visit goodshepherdmilford.org/food-pantry.