SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Food insecurity is just as much of a problem now as it was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Families are benefitting from the recent stimulus payments, but Food Bank of South Jersey President Fred Wasiak expects demand to remain historically high all year as people try to catch up on rent, mortgage and utility payments.
That’s why, he said, it’s as important as ever to bring food to those who need it.
“Unfortunately, there are still people that aren’t reaching our neighborhoods or reaching our mobile distributions,” he said. “(About) 61,000 additional people have become food insecure in the four counties that we serve.”
The organization serves Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties.
Wasiak said the number of organizations that want to be part of the food distribution network keeps growing, which is the most effective way to reach people who need help.
“We have 28 mobile distribution sites as well throughout the four counties, but it’s the neighborhood model that makes an impact on the individual, the families, the seniors, the children in those local communities,” he said.
About 40% of people who visit a food pantry are doing it for the first time, and Wasiak does not expect stimulus payments to change that.
“It is going to be helpful, but people have racked up so much debt during this time,” he said.
Pastor Darlene Trappier, executive director of partner organization Beacon of Hope in Mount Holly, said the pantry’s quantity and quality of food often come as a shock to first-timers, who occasionally leave in tears of joy.
“We have people that have religious needs, so we provide for that,” she said. “We have vegetarians that come in here and we make sure we have veggie patties and we have a lot of produce for them.”
One positive that has come out of the pandemic, she said, has been seeing families become closer and ask for help together.
Trappier said nobody should go to bed hungry, and nobody should feel ashamed to ask for help.
“They cry sometimes when they see the amount of food we actually give them,” she added. “They leave here (with) their heads are a little bit higher, and they’re smiling.”