COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 7A
Pantry from A1
When pantries get a lot of
one item, as can be the case
with shipments from the
U.S. Department of Agri-
culture, they will offer reci-
pes to help clients figure out
how to use that food.
Still, maintaining that
supermarket-style environ-
ment has gotten more diffi-
cult as supplies have gotten
tighter. The Creswell pantry
has had more patrons in the
last few months and that’s
making it harder to give out
as much food as they would
like, Blachnik said.
“We were giving everyone
five pounds per person [per
day] in a family. Now we’re
down to two pounds,” she
said. With the addition of
the Creslane food drive sup-
plies, she hopes to get that
number back up to three or
four pounds.
Demand at the Creswell
pantry has been up 42 per-
cent since July. That’s among
the five highest demand-in-
creases in the county. FFLC
supplies and other dona-
tions should keep the pan-
try stocked well enough,
but that increased demand
means Blachnik has to
stretch already thin supplies
even further.
It’s not clear exactly why
demand is up — 12 percent
across Lane County on av-
erage — even as the USDA
has found that food inse-
curity had been decreasing
through 2018. Rising rent,
stagnant wages and changes
to Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP)
benefits, previously known
as food stamps, may be fac-
tors. The Creswell pantry,
FFLC and the Community
Sharing Program in Cottage
Grove all mentioned SNAP
benefit changes in their as-
sessment of the growth in
demand.
“Any time we see benefits
decreasing for people, the
natural response for people
[is] to seek out food at an
emergency pantry,” Wood-
ward said.
Benefits are administered
by individual states, though
the federal government can
change the rules on who
qualifies.
The current rule chang-
es being considered by the
USDA, for which one of the
public comment periods
ended Dec. 2, would pre-
vent states from automati-
cally extending “categorical
eligibility” for SNAP ben-
efits to those who also use
programs like Temporary
Assistance for Needy Fam-
ilies, effectively removing
more than three million
people across the nation
from SNAP, including some
66,000 Oregonians, accord-
ing to the Oregon Food
Bank.
It would also cut the dol-
lar amount of benefits for
thousands more in the Bea-
ver State.
The FFLC-network pan-
tries — 31 in total — don’t
abide by the same rules.
They run on the honor sys-
tem; no one who uses the
service has to prove identity,
income or residence.
“If people really need
food, we want them to be
able to access it. Our mis-
sion is that nobody should
be hungry. Let’s all have
access to food,” Woodward
said.
A July rule change by
FFLC tried to increase that
access by allowing people to
visit any food pantry they
distribute to in the coun-
ty. As a result, the Creswell
pantry has seen patrons
from as far as Florence and
Dorena come through their
door.
Another
contributing
factor could be low wages
in Lane County. Forty-five
percent of residents live at or
under the ALICE threshold
— a measurement of those
people who are employed
but make just enough to
pay the bills — according to
a 2016 report from United
Way.
That contributes to 11.1
percent (about 460,000) of
Oregonians lacking depend-
able access to enough food
to lead a healthy lifestyle,
according to the USDA.
SNAP benefits and pan-
tries are critical to meeting
the needs of those Orego-
nians.
Patrons of rural pantries
in particular have more on-
going need. FFLC calculated
that rural pantries see repeat
visitors an average of five
times per year, compared
to four times for the Eugene
and Springfield pantries.
One of the reasons rural
pantries see more repeat
visitors is a lack of access to
grocery stores. Small com-
munities like Creswell have
seen grocery stores close or
never had one to begin with.
That forces Creswellians to
go to Eugene, Springfield or
Cottage Grove to do their
shopping.
For the patrons of FFLC
pantries, many of whom fall
under the ALICE threshold,
that extra expense is too
much to bear.
“If [people] are on a limit-
ed income, they are making
decisions as to where that
money is going,” Woodward
said. “We see that the food
budget in every household
is the most flexible.”
Woodward said that de-
spite the high homeless
population in the county,
that isn’t who the majority
of pantry patrons are.
“Most are the working
poor, for lack of a better
term,” she said. “For the
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most part, they can cover
their expenses. But when
the unexpected happens,
that’s when they need extra
help.”
Even as demand has
grown, pantries have been
able to keep feeding those
in-need, thanks to the gener-
osity of others. Lane County
residents have stepped up
to help pantries all over the
county. Donations poured
in during the “Stamp Out
Hunger” food drive led by
the National Association
of Letter Carriers and from
grocery stores, farmers and
individuals all year long.
Those donations help main-
tain the shopping-style pan-
try experience.
“The community sup-
port, in those ways, makes
a huge difference,” Blachnik
said. “If we were only de-
pending on Food for Lane
County, we would do fine.
But we wouldn’t do as well,
you know what I mean?”
Supporting the pantry
goes beyond donations.
An all-volunteer workforce
keeps things running. Sa-
nipac provides free trash
and recycling services to
the building. PayneWest
Insurance in Cottage Grove
donated 400 pounds of food
and many hours of labor
when the Creslane donation
came in to make sure
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Worship
Directory
COTTAGE GROVE:
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ
195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
10:00am
Christian Education:
Pre-K through 5th
www.6thandgibbs.com
First Presbyterian Church
3rd and Adams St
541-942-4479
Rev.: Karen Hill
Worship: 10:00am
Sunday School: 10:00am
fpcgrove.com
Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
Worship: 11:00am
The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm
Praying Thru Life: Wednesday 6:00pm
Hope Fellowship
United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd.
541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
First Baptist Church
301 S. 6th st • 541-942-8242
Pastor: David Chhangte
Sunday School 9:30am
Worship Service 10:30am
Youth Wednesday 6:30pm
cgfi rstbaptist.com
350 E. W ASHINGTON A VENUE • C OTTAGE G ROVE
Visit The Sentinel online:
www.CGSentinel.com
Ed & Kori Sowa
Independent Owner-Operators
Delight Valley
Church of Christ
33087 Saginaw Rd. East
541-942-7711 • Pastor: Bob Friend
Two Services:
9am - Classic in the Chapel
10:30am - Contemporary in the
Auditorium
541.942.7934
Decorate a handcrafted, pre-built gingerbread
Country Church, Classic Cottage, or
Covered Bridge, with more than 30
decorating items to choose from.
Each building $30, includes lights
and stained glass windows.
Several dates available, you must
pre-register! Visit cottageevents.com
or call 541-942-6888.
200 Gateway Blvd.
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
4
(541) 942-5400
Mon. - Sat. 8am - 9pm
Sun. 9am - 8pm
Cottage Grove Faith Center
33761 Row River Rd.
541-942-4851
Lead Pastor: Kevin Pruett
www.cg4.tv
Full Childrenʼs Ministry available
Services: 9:00am & 10:45am
C ALL U S T ODAY !
at The Cottage events venue
Cottage Grove
Cottage Grove Bible Church
1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
Pastor:Bob Singer
Worship 11am
Sunday School:9:45am
AWANA age 3-8th Grade,
Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm
www.cgbible.org
DENTISTRY WITH FAMILY IN MIND
Gingerbread Workshops
See FOOD 11A
Church of Christ
420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
Sunday Service: 10:30am
Brent Bitner, DDS
Family fun for the holidays!
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell
552 Holbrook Lane
Sunday 8:30 AM
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Church with the fl ags.”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
All Welcome
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: Kevin Miller
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00
Living Faith Assembly
467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
Trinity Lutheran Church
Worship Services Sundays: 9a & 11a 6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
Youth Worship Sundays: 11a (all
Pastor: James L. Markus
ages welcome)
Sunday School & Adult Education
Mondays: 5:30p (6th-12th grades) 9:15am
Sunday Worship 10:30 am
Non-Denominational
Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
Church of Christ
5:00pm TLC Groups
1041 Pennoyer Ave
tlccg.com
541-942-8928
Preacher: Tony Martin
United Methodist Church
Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
334 Washington 541-942-3033
Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm New Pastor Craig Pesti- Strobel
www.pennoyeravecoc.com
Worship 10:30am
umcgrove.org
Old Time Gospel Fellowship
103 S. 5th St. • 541-942-4999
“VICTORY” Country Church
Pastor: Jim Edwards
913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913
Sunday Service: 10:00am
Pastor: Barbara Dockery
Join in Traditional Christian Worship Worship Service: 10:00am
Message: “WE BELIEVE IN
Our Lady of Perpetual Help MIRACLES”
and St. Philip Benizi
Catholic Churches
1025. N. 19th St.
541-942-3420
Father John J. Boyle
Holy Mass:
Saturday Vigil – 5:30 PM
Sunday – 10:30 PM
For weekday and Holy Day of
Obligation schedule see website
OLPHCG.net
Confession: 4 PM to 5 PM
Saturdays or by appointment
CRESWELL:
Creswell Presbyterian Church
75 S 4th S • 541-895-3419
Rev. Seth Wheeler
Adult Sunday School 9:15am
Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am
website www.creswellpres.org
Our Worship Directory is a weekly feature in this
newspaper. If your congregation
would like to be a part of this directory,
contact us today!
S entinel
C ottage G rove
541-942-3325
116 N. 6th Street
Cottage Grove, OR
