Food pantries continue
to report need in area
Summer has not
brought large drop
in residents
seeking assistance
By mark rosman
& clare marie celano
Staff Writers

The dramatic up-and-down ride of the stock market that is costing some people money, combined with what some local assistance directors perceive to be generally tougher financial times, has led, in some cases, to an increase in demand at local food pantries.

Nancy Lane, coordinator for Ocean Emergency Services’ food pantry on Monmouth Avenue, Lakewood, reports that the pantry is ordering more food, continuing to seek donations of food and can see up to 700 people per month.

Any resident of Ocean County may come to the food pantry, which is a division of Catholic Charities, once a month. That person can receive an approximate three-day supply of food for his or her family, Lane said.

The types of food the food pantry always needs include tuna fish, peanut butter, boxed cereal, soup, vegetables, pastas and canned meats, she said.

Lane said that in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 the food pantry saw more of a demand from some people who might not otherwise have been in need of food. That atypical group seeking aid has largely disappeared, she said, leaving a more regular roster of people coming in for assistance. This group can include illegal immigrants who, if they can’t find work and earn money, need to rely on the food pantry to feed their families, she said.

The Jackson food pantry has also seen an increase in patronage, according to Suzanne Rogalsky.

"Normally in the summer the need tapers off," Rogalsky said. "We usually only have 50 families in the summer, but we serviced over 70 families" in July.

Rogalsky said there has been a noticeable rise in the food pantry use since the stock market began its dramatic roller coaster ride.

"Many people have been laid off from either downsizing or for financial reasons," she said, adding that the food pantry is also seeing a "higher end" economic client these days.

The Jackson food pantry, located in the town’s old library on Don Connor Boulevard, provides food on the fourth Thursday of the month from 7-9 p.m. There are canned goods and some meat and cheese available, as well as some dairy products now that the pantry has two freezers for its use.

Ocean County Hunger Relief, Toms River, is affiliated with 38 food pantries throughout the county, according to Executive Director Carol Latif. Clients come to Hunger Relief from various social agencies and nonprofit organizations and are then referred to food pantries near their place of residence or employment, Latif said.

Latif noted that approximately 10 percent of the county’s 510,000 residents live in poverty and said there has been a marked increase in the number of people seeking assistance, not just food, but for payment of rent and utilities.

The needy generally fall into three categories, she said: Senior citizens whose incomes are not keeping pace with inflation; employees in the county’s tourism industry who will be out of jobs, and in some cases out of a place to live, once the tourist season ends; and people affected by the disaster of Sept. 11 who lost jobs or are working fewer hours.

"The hunger issue is getting worse," Latif said, and not just in Ocean County, but statewide. Food relief administrators from around New Jersey have been meeting to plan ways to address an issue that appears to be getting more severe, she said.

In addition to the needs of its clients, Hunger Relief has its own need: a facility where donated food can be stored, Latif said. At present, without such a building to its name, the agency must rush the donated goods it receives to the 38 pantries with which it is affiliated.

One of Hunger Relief’s affiliated food pantries is the House of Blessing at Calvary Lighthouse, Lakewood. Martha Dietrich said people coming for aid are not asked any questions related to their economic status since they have already been screened by Hunger Relief. She did note, however, that the House of Blessing continues to see an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants coming in for aid. The agency, which is open five days a week, offers clothing and food. Each person may come once a month, she said.

Sharon Meyers, the director of welfare services in Howell, said her food pantry has seen an increase in use over the last six months. Meyers, who services adults 18 and over, said she is currently aiding 35 clients a month. She said the patrons of the pantry of late are in the upper end of the economic scale.

"We are seeing an increase in people coming to us who have college degrees and who have been running into hard times," Meyers said. "Jobs are hard to come by these days and people are having terrible times. Many are just not making the same amount of money they were before and it has caused havoc in their lives. Without a doubt, the food pantry is servicing clients from a higher socio-economic status."

She said many people are using food stamps, people who have never used them before. She explained that with the $135 a month that food stamps actually provides, many clients need to come to the food pantry in the interim because that amount of money does not go very far.

The Howell food pantry services clients on the fourth Monday of the month from 3-7 p.m. Only proof of residency is required. She said if people are in immediate need of food, arrangements can be made to help them..

Carl Matthews of the Joshua House in Farmingdale said the town has not seen any significant increase in the patronage of the food pantry.

"We’re still servicing between 70 and 75 families a month," he said.

The pantry, which provides canned foods and non-perishables, as well as some deli meats and hot dogs, is open on Monday from 10 a.m. to noon and on Wednesday from 1-3 p.m.

New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt (D-12) recently toured food distribution outlets in Trenton and Freehold with fellow Congressman Tony P. Hall (D-Ohio). Holt said during a recent interview that the demand for these food services has risen some 17 percent statewide over the past year.

"There are a lot of people here that are struggling," Holt said.

According to Holt, the number of meals increased by 15 percent at a Trenton food kitchen, and a Freehold location rose by 20 percent compared to last year.

"That is up dramatically," Holt said.

Holt said the struggling economy and loss of local jobs in the wake of Sept. 11 may have contributed to the increases.

"Many have lost their jobs during the last year and are on the lower end of the salary scale," Holt said.

President George Bush nominated Hall in February as the nation’s ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies in Rome.

Hall, whose nomination was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, said that in his home state of Ohio things are even worse, and that about one-third of those hungry are children.

"I suspect this is what is going on around the country," Hall said.

Hall, who said he expects to resign his seat in Congress in the next few weeks in order to assume the ambassador post in Rome, has been a leading voice on the hunger issue in the Dayton area of his home state, and has worked on the House Select Committee on Hunger.

He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize three times for his efforts since 1998.

According to Hall, the United States provides 50 percent of the food to the World Food Program.

"Food aid is a major component of our security. We don’t get a lot of credit for it, because nobody knows it," Hall said.

According to Hall, there are currently 54 nations experiencing a food deficit.

Hall said North Korea is one of the worst nations in the world when it comes to hunger. According to Hall, things there are so bad that people cannot put deceased loved ones outside of their homes for fear that someone would steal the corpse for food.

"North Korea is a basket case," Holt said.

As far as hunger at home, Hall said educating people to know where to go for food is key.

"We need a place of information so people can know where to go and get something to eat," Hall said.

Hall said there are programs available, but the nation must come together with the political and spiritual will to make changes.

"Most people are not aware that there is hunger in our own back yard," Hall said.

According to Hall, there are between 25 million and 30 million U.S. citizens who are hungry two to four days of every month.

"They are embarrassed. They don’t have a spokesman and the story never gets out. We can end this," Hall said.

Holt’s Republican opponent in the November general election, the Rev. Deforest Soaries, said he has also seen the demand for food increase in the region.

"There is an increase in hunger, and an increased need for better nutrition," Soaries said.

Soaries, who was secretary of state under former Gov. Christie Whitman, is challenging Holt for the seat in the 12th District. Soaries is also the pastor of the 6,000-member First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, Franklin, Somerset County.

"I want to provide leadership on this issue," Soaries said, adding that one of the problems is the breakdown of access for people to various programs like food stamps.

"It is bad to be hungry. It is worse to not have access" to food programs, he said.

Soaries said some of the programs must be updated to increase the capacity for families to buy more food.

"There are people’s incomes that have been lost," he said.

Greater Media Newspapers staff writer Charles W. Kim contributed to this story.