Food pantries stretched thin

The more people who come to the food pantry, the more Chris Moran is sure layoffs and foreclosures have hit homes in Chapel Hill.

About 62 percent more households have joined the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services food pantry since last July, from 1,470 households to 2,379, Executive Director Moran said.

“People are earning less but have the same expenses, and many rely on food stamps to help them get by so they can keep their homes,” Moran said.

The Inter-Faith Council food pantry provided 1,422 bags of groceries to households in July 2009, up from 1,155 bags a year before.

The problem: More food is going out than coming in, he said.

The amount of food the council receives is slowly rising among the council’s 2,800 donors, but the number of needy families is rising even faster.

Giving is up about 25 percent from last year, but it is still far away from where the nonprofit would like it to be, Moran said.

To receive groceries, households apply at the pantry. Members of the Inter-Faith Council then determine whether or not families are eligible for aid based on their particular financial situations. There is no set formula for determining eligibility.

Members of households can come in once per month to receive groceries. Some come every month, while others might only show up once a year, Moran said.

“If all of those households came in every single month, we would run out of food,” Moran said.

The Inter-Faith Council is trying to find a space to combine the food pantry, which is located in Carrboro, with a community kitchen in Chapel Hill, also operated by the Inter-Faith Council. The kitchen prepares and serves free meals. Almost 100,000 meals were served in the past year.

Combining the pantry and kitchen would allow the Council to distribute resources more easily and to start more outreach programs like helping with food stamp applications and showing families how to cook on a budget.

Moran said community involvement is a crucial aspect of ending hunger in Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

“We need more help, more money, more food and more support,” he said.

“Everybody has to eat.”


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