By Melanie Graham
As local food pantries continue to see increased demand in local towns, they are turning to the public for help during the lean summer months for donations.
While many people may assume that an area like Greater Newburyport is immune to the hardships that come along with the poor economy, local community food pantries report more and more families from all economic backgrounds come through their doors.
"With the price of gas and the price of food, we are seeing a shift of not just low-income families but middle-income families, too," said Tiffany Nigro, assistant director for the Pettengill House, a nonprofit community social service agency based in Salisbury.
Nigro said the Pettengill food pantry served 10,000 more meals this year than it did last year.
Like many other community service programs, the Pettengill House has seen an increased number of people each day looking for both food and financial assistance. The lack of donations, which are known to dwindle in the summer, have left the shelves at the Pettengill food pantry bare.
School-based organizations as well as Boy and Girl Scout troops are generally the suppliers for much of the food in the Pettengill food pantry, Nigro said, but with those organizations not meeting during the summer, the shelves look a bit depleted.
"We count on our community and community members to help support (the food pantry,)" Nigro said.
The Community Action Inc. pantry in Amesbury has also seen an increased number of people looking for meals and food items.
"The need is definitely there," said Bill Browning, director of community services for Community Action. "We've seen people that we haven't seen before."
Browning explained many of the food pantry users have been those who have donated in the past, and for the first time, are coming through to use those donations for themselves.
"There are people that come through saying, 'I never thought that it would happen to me,'" he said.
But it is happening, and with a higher demand, Browning explained that the Community Action pantry is making an "intense" use of the Merrimack Valley food bank in Lowell.
Major Kathryn Purvis, a corps officer at the Newburyport Salvation Army, said those families that usually qualify for free lunches at schools now have the children at home and need meals.
To help the families of school-age children, Purvis said donations to the pantry that include food and snacks for children are especially important. On Tuesday, the Salvation Army will allow families with school-age children to come in and pick up things like juice boxes, macaroni and cheese, and other kid-friendly food.
At Our Neighbor's Table in Amesbury, director Rosemary Werner is experiencing not only difficulty with receiving and finding food, but also with keeping volunteers, because many of them have trouble affording the gas to drive to the Amesbury facility and assist with the weekly meals and food pantry.
Unfortunately, Werner said, the food banks where Our Neighbor's Table finds many of the items used to cook the meals and donate to those in need are seeing a significant drop in donations, leaving smaller, community organizations with nowhere to turn but the community's residents.
"It's an enormous problem that is affecting food pantries up and down the Northeast," Werner said.
Furthermore, Werner explained that there is a "staggering" number of people from all walks of life that have not only been asking for food, but for gas cards as well.
"I feel awful because I can't help them," Werner said. "A lot of it is that they simply need help with gas to go about everyday things."
"It's rough for everyone," said Nigro, "prices are not just going up for one group, it's across the nation."
Food pantry hours:
The Pettengill House Inc., 13 Lafayette Road, Salisbury — Monday/Wednesday, 9 a.m to noon; Tuesday, 5 to 7 p.m.
Community Action Inc., Town Hall Annex, 11 School St., Amesbury — Monday/Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Salvation Army, 40 Water St., Newburyport — Monday/Wednesday, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Our Neighbor's Table, Main Street Congregational Church, Amesbury — meals, Wednesday, 4 to 6:30 p.m.; food pantry, Wednesday, 3 to 6 p.m. and the last Saturday of the month, 9:30 a.m. to noon
Items food pantries are looking for:
cereal
juice boxes
school snacks
condiments
hygiene items (toothpaste, deodorant, etc.)
paper items
peanut butter and jelly
pasta and pasta sauce
canned meats and fruits
soup
powdered milk
macaroni and cheese
dried fruit
rice cakes
bread
crackers
