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.
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