Amid record unemployment, Pa. anti-hunger advocates anticipate prolonged community need
From empty shelves in stores to long lines at food banks, hunger and poverty have become increasingly visible since March.
As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout Pennsylvania, anti-hunger advocates say uncertainty has been the biggest obstacle to their efforts. However, by operating under an “always say yes” motto, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and its partners have continued to feed those in need.
But community need is not going away anytime soon.
From March-June, hundreds of volunteers donated 18,000 hours to pack an extra 6.5 million pounds of food that helped feed 2,000 people each month as part of the food bank’s feeding initiatives. With many unemployed and schools closed during the statewide shutdown, the food bank saw a 50% increase in need for food assistance.
“The outpouring of support from the community has been incredible, but the need is not waning,” Central Pennsylvania Food Bank Executive Director Joe Arthur said.
One in 20 people living in central Pennsylvania are experiencing food insecurity for the first time as a result of the pandemic. Of those individuals, one-third are children, Arthur said.
“The response to the COVID-19 pandemic put a tremendous strain on our mission,” he said. “We did not plan for a nearly 50% increase in food distribution over the same time last year. We didn’t expect that in order to stay safe and keep up with demand, that we would have to move our packing operation to a larger off-site facility or to add a third shift or to have to purchase some of the food supplies we needed when donations were interrupted because of panic buying at grocery retailers.”
Amy Hill, the food bank’s director of community engagement and advocacy, said economic indicators suggest a “prolonged recession” that could take years to recover from.
“Every county in central Pennsylvania’s 27 county territory has record levels of unemployment and poverty. Historically as unemployment rises, the meal gap rises,” she said. “While we remain hopeful for a swift end to this pandemic, we know that food insecurity will remain a significant issue in our community for a long time.”
With a “strong front” to combat hunger, the food bank has 100 partners in its network of agencies, but community support is what gets the job done, Hill said — adding that volunteering, donating and raising awareness all contribute to addressing food insecurity across Pennsylvania.
Earlier this month, state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, visited the State College Food Bank — located at 1321 S. Atherton St. — to gauge community need and find ways to help underserved communities.
The pandemic, paired with statewide mitigation efforts, has had a “domino effect” on hunger and food insecurity, Conklin said.
“It’s important that we understand, not just the work that’s happening within the county, but the work that this food bank does do,” he said. “How important it is to keep them stocked, not only with food donations, but monetary donations.”
State College Food Bank board President Rich Barrickman said the agency’s mission is to ensure “nobody goes hungry in Centre County.”
“This community has been so good for us, especially with this pandemic. With the financial aid that we’ve gotten, we can help out more people,” he said. “Anybody in Centre County, the food pantries, we’ve been helping. We’ve been helping a lot of other agencies.”
Donations can be made to the State College Food Bank from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday and from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Friday.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 10:18 AM.
