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Food Banks Run Low On Supplies

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: November 30, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - About 2,000 families were given food at The Volunteer Way last month. Unfortunately, the food bank on Congress Street sometimes ran out of food and many people were turned away.

"We're doubling and tripling the amount of people" we typically serve, said Lester Cypher, executive director of the agency. "The influx is coming so rapidly that we can't serve everybody. We've got lines out the doors every time we open.

"In fact, we are very, very bad neighbors to our corporate partners. We have traffic jams of people trying to get in here."

The rising number of needy families at The Volunteer Way and other Pasco County charities corresponds with increased demand at food banks across the nation. In the midst of holiday season, the number of families seeking assistance isn't likely to decrease.

Jacquie Petet, executive director of Christian Social Services on U.S. 41 in Land O' Lakes, estimated that 50 percent more people are turning to the agency for food this holiday season compared with last year.

The agency, which also sells clothing and other items, has consistently been giving out 5 tons of food per week, up from about 3 tons per week last year. The organization hopes to give away toys and gifts to 350 children this holiday season, as well.

"We had 181 families that we provided Thanksgiving baskets to," she said. "We don't just make the baskets - with turkey, pumpkin pie and potatoes and everything - out of our food pantry stuff. We specially buy it. I ordered 150 baskets, but I had to order at the beginning of November.

"Since that wasn't enough I bought turkeys and pies at local stores and included canned food out of the pantry."

Petet, who has worked at the agency for about 16 years, said she has been too busy to compare statistics from previous years. But she doesn't need a spreadsheet to know that even more people will probably look to Christian Social Services as Christmas nears.

The charity accepts donated food, mostly from local churches and residents, but holiday-themed food baskets distributed at Thanksgiving and Christmas are purchased through the Self Help and Resource Exchange food program.

"For $18, you get $36 to $40 worth of food," Petet said. "It's not income-based, so the SHARE program is open to anyone and everyone."

At The Salvation Army in Port Richey, development coordinator Jeanne Coulter said the agency is "seeing and referring" more people this year. The agency's Christmas Assistance program is for families with children 12 and younger. The application process for the program ended Nov. 15.

This year, Coulter said, the program benefited 633 children, up from 618 last year. However, she said many families the agency has helped in the past may now have children older than 12. Those families are referred to Community United Methodist Church on U.S. 19 in Holiday, where people can apply for food and gifts until Dec. 22, Coulter said.

"That's good," she said, "because it helps people who have missed Toys for Tots or the Salvation Army."

Although his agency sometimes runs out of food to distribute, Cypher of The Volunteer Way is devising new ways to feed the area's hungry.

"We have a hydroponic farm, and we're starting to harvest that now, so we'll have some fresh vegetables going out," he said. "We're trying everything we can to meet the needs. We just can't do things like we used to. We used to get six to seven tractor-trailer loads a month from the USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now, zero.

"The federal government cut back their supply of funds and commodities to Florida and the state had to divvy it up to everybody. It's not anybody's fault, but the government can't afford to give it out like they used to. Like any business, if you don't diversify and change your ways, you're going down the tubes."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

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