Cupboards Bare as New Jersey Food Banks Serve More

October 19, 2008
By Thomas Barlas
Press of Atlantic City - Atlantic City, NJ

Tough economic times are making it hard for the state's food pantries to keep their shelves stocked.

State officials said New Jersey's food banks are reporting as much as a 30 percent increase in the number of families seeking food assistance, while food supplies are down by 19 percent from the same time last year.

In some cases, they said, a few of the facilities simply closed after running out of supplies.

The situation is so bad that Gov. Jon S. Corzine recently announced the early distribution of nearly
$1 million to the state's six emergency food distribution centers to ease the shortages reported by the food pantries.

Of those funds, $14,444 went to the Southern Regional Food Distribution Center in Vineland, where Executive Director Tammy Morris said people requesting food are not just those on fixed incomes.

"Now we see more working families coming in requesting food," she said. "It's not looking good."

At the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Egg Harbor Township, Director Evelyn Benton said her facility is serving more than the traditional clients.

"We just had a guy in a suit and tie," Benton said. "He works for a furniture company on commission, and sales are down 45 percent. He's losing his house. He was mortified that he was here.

"It's that level of person, the person who works, who, all of sudden, that $25 (saved on food purchases) makes a difference."

Benton and Morris said making the situation worse is that rising food prices means their money doesn't go as far as usual, and that some providers have gone out of business.

For instance, Benton said a turkey that cost $10 to $12 a year ago now costs about $15, and the $10,000 spent on the product now buys about 350 fewer turkeys.

"We're going to shop really hard, so we can stretch our dollar," Morris said.

The recently-released state funds are part of Corzine's hunger initiative, and were originally scheduled for distribution later this month. Corzine also ordered the release of more money to help ease the food-shortage crisis.

"In these difficult economic times, many people are turning to their local food pantries to feed their families," Corzine said. "The guiding purpose of the hunger funds is to provide those pantries with additional, nutritious food. Helping those in need remains a top priority in our state, and we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that New Jersey's emergency feeding operations have what they need to continue their mission."

State Department of Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus said his office is working with federal agriculture officials to make sure there's an adequate supply of donated food items to the food banks through the state Emergency Food Assistance Program.

The program distributes food donated by the federal Department of Agriculture through a network of 660 food pantries, soup kitchens and other feeding operations. The state distributed more than 10 million pounds of the commodities last year, but rising food prices this year caused the federal government to cancel some food shipments.

Persons who want to donate food can contact the Community Food Bank of New Jersey at 609-383-8843, or the Southern Regional Food Distribution Center at 856-327-3145.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/289802.html