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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2003)
Local pantries distribute food boxes to community Food boxes allow families to choose what items would be most useful to them By Brittney Lively Freelance Reporter ( Paying rent and utilities during the winter can be a burden for many res idents of Lane County. Money shortages and tight budgets can often force households to turn to other sources, like emer gency food boxes, in order to put food on the table. v Emergency food boxes are handed out at 22 local food pantries and are composed of food items that have been donated to the FOOD for Lane County warehouse Last year about 80,000 emergency food boxes were distributed through out the county. "(Food pantries) are our primary way of getting food out to Lane County," said DanaTurell, di rector of communications and development at FOOD for Lane County. An emergency food box is designed to provide families with enough nourishment to get them through three to five days, and depending on the size of the fam ily, the average food box contains 2( to 30 pounds of food. Each box includes an assortmem of items depending on what is cur rently available in the pantry. Boxes can include frozen vegetables, fresh produce, canned fruit and vegeta bles, canned and dried beans, noo dles, crackers, bread, dairy products and baking items. Also, most fami lies receive a protein item, some times turkey or ham, but most ofter peanut butter or soups when meat is not available. "We don't actually make the boxes, said Beth Bartell, the Creswell pantry manager. "We are set up so that clients can come and pick out what they would like." At most pantries, people are able to move through a line and choose food items from different categories, such as flour or sugar from the baking items, and milk or yogurt from the dairy items. People are given the op portunity to "shop" for themselves. Using this system, families can choose what items will be the most beneficial for their homes. "The majority of our clients are very considerate of other people and don't take things unless they need them," Bartell said. Over the course of a year, a family can receive a total of 16 — up from 12 — emergency food boxes from FOOD for Lane County. The increase was based on an increased need. Catholic Community Services dis tributes about 40 percent of the food collected by FOOD for Ixine County, but with the numbers continuing to rise, they are finding it difficult to keep up. Also, 25 percent of Lane County eats from an emergency food box, and in October the number of fami lies helped by Catholic Community Services skyrocketed, reaching 1,700 families. We are stretched kind or thin right now," said Joe Sostich, the Food Program manager for Catholic Commu nity Ser vices in Eugene. "The demand has really gone up and the food has gone down." Sostich also said that usually half of the organization's yearly supply of food is donated during the holidays, and he attrib utes this to the fact that people feel more generous around this time of year. In general, FOOD for Lane Coun ty is serving about 8 percent more people than it has in the past, and local pantries are relying on volun teers to help them make it through the busy months. "A lot of our volunteers are people who are receiving food boxes and it's their way of saying thank you," Sos tich said. "We couldn't do it without them." While pantries are becoming busier and food is running low at FOOD for Lane County, many pantries are look ing to other sources for help. Local food pantries are receiving fresh produce from the U.S. Department of Agricul ture and donations of canned goods and money from corporate donors and local community members. Also, ^ the University Residence Hall cafeterias regularly donate extra food that may have ^ ' Hl been prepared but never I n set out to be served. "The Boy Scouts had a food drive and raised about 1,450 pounds of canned and boxed goods," Bartell said. "And the postal carriers are also doing a drive in December. There's also a lot of very generous people in Creswell who do nate money." Donations and local food drives are often a large factor in determining how much food a pantry can give out per month. Turell encourages people to donate their food, time and especially money. "A dollar helps us distribute five pounds of food, and usually a per son eats about five pounds a day," she said. "Help, whether it's donat ing food, money or just voting in a way that will help hunger. There's no better feeling than knowing that you've helped someone else." Brittney Lively is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. SUGAR Need for the holidays? 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