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Food Pantry Lines Swell as Recession Deepens

April 2, 2009

Food pantry

On a recent Friday morning, the only sound outside the Love Gospel Assembly Church food pantry at 114 E. 188th St. was the occasional calling of a number. “Fifteen,” a man shouted as he leaned out of the church doors and glanced at a crowd of 40 or 50 who looked at their shoes, the sky, or the streets, but not at each other.

Most came alone and almost all had metal baskets on wheels, but Cecelia, 47, clutched a green backpack as she waited. It was her first visit to the pantry though she has lived in the South Fordham area for seven years with her eight-year-old son. She was there because she lost her job six months ago, and has been struggling to make ends meet.

Patricia Williams, 48, was visiting Love Gospel for the third time. She, too, recently lost her job and has found it difficult to find a new one. Though she receives $198 a month in food stamps, or $6.60 per day, it does not feed both her and her disabled husband.

Jeffrey Williams, who oversees the program at the church, said new people continue to flock to the pantry and they now feed approximately 3,000 people a month compared to 1,500 per month in past years.

Other local food pantries are also getting busier.

“There has been a tremendous increase in demand by our food pantry and pantries throughout Bronx and throughout the city,” said Ken Small, development director at the Citizens Advice Bureau, a Morris Heights-based non-profit that runs a food pantry out of Morris Senior Center on East 181st Street.

Leroy Robinson, pastor at the True Gospel Tabernacle Church at 1 W. Tremont Ave., has also noticed a sharp spike in the number of people coming to his pantry.  Every Thursday morning, with the 4-train rattling overhead, dozens of local residents line up outside the church to get their hands on free food.

A staff member said there had been a 25 percent increase since last year, adding “Everywhere, people are getting laid off.”

Citywide, the unemployment rate in February was 8.1 percent, according to New York State Department of Labor data, compared to 4.4 percent in February 2008. 

In the Bronx, it’s currently 10.8 percent. But Community District 5′s unemployment rate is typically much higher, said the Community District Manager Xavier Rodriguez. Though there is no current unemployment data for the district, the 2000 Census put it at close to 20 percent.

But even those who have jobs have been hurt by rising food prices and the faltering economy. 

As a part time home care assistant, Yolanda Sierra, 58, says she feels caught in the middle. Her former 24-hour work week as a home care assistant has been cut back and she is no longer working enough hours to cover all her bills. Yet she does not qualify for welfare. 

“Little by little, it’s getting worse,” Sierra said. She began coming to the Creston Baptist Church’s food pantry at 114 E. 188th St. a few months ago.

Though pantries are free and screen only for housing status because the food distributed requires cooking, they typically limit the number of visits per household to one per month, or may cap the number of visitors they accept. So those in need often hop from one food pantry to the next, since the food, mostly perishable items like fruits, vegetables, meat, and bread, lasts only a few days.

After visiting Love Gospel, Cecelia made her way down the Grand Concourse to the Creston Baptist Church, a French baguette sticking out of her backpack. Though she arrived at noon, when doors open, the street was empty. She looked disappointingly at the “closed” sign hanging on the church’s gated entrance.

A staff member at Creston said that they had to turn people away that day and that recently there has been a decrease in the food that they receive. He said that normally two to three orders and an automatic shipment come in from the New York City Food Bank every month, but they have only been receiving one shipment since January, which only lasts two weeks at best. (The Food Bank couldn’t be reached for comment by press time.)

According to Rodriguez, there is currently a shortage of food pantries in the area. He said that community-based organizations have been looking to approach local churches about opening new sites to cope with the increased need.

Despite the closed door at Creston Baptist, Cecelia said she would return next week and continue scouting for other food pantries. She shifted the weight of her backpack as she went on her way and smiled, “It’s getting heavy. Next time I will bring a cart.”

By REBECCA CHAO

Editor’s note: See here for details of food pantries in the west Bronx.

Written by admin · Filed Under Latest, News/Features 

Comments

2 Responses to “Food Pantry Lines Swell as Recession Deepens”

  1. N.T.Joseph on May 15th, 2009 2:24 am

    What is recession ? recession is fall in the demand,to meet the desire no purchase capacity. The reason for recession is 1,un-employment-under employment. 2,wars and natural calamities. 3, loss of human working days. 4,over pricing 5,cost escalation 5 the law of limitation 6 diminishing utility 7, restrictive trade practices 8,capital converged with limited people. lavish spending by some people 9,lack of job for required qualification 10 high rated corruption in our society 11, exploitation by labour leaders. 12 plundering human resources . 13 love of money evil. wealth , 14 nowhere love of Niebuhr,rather love of god. 15 . unity in home and country are the prime cause. Remedy is to inspire love one another.,transformation to be encouraged,right to work for food revived the recession will be overcome d. lord Jesus has spoken to you

  2. YEAR IN REVIEW: The Economy, Development, and Local Business : Mount Hope Monitor on January 8th, 2010 8:47 pm

    [...] food pantries, including the one at Gospel Tabernacle Church on West Tremont Avenue, experienced increased demand in 2009, as many local residents struggled to make ends [...]

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