Demand growing for food assistance as holidays near
Charities feeling a squeeze
FALL RIVER - Not three weeks after the state commander of the Salvation Army tearfully asked his officers not to turn any families away this winter, Major Elizabeth Deming realized just what she was up against.
On the first day she took applications for Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas baskets last month, 344 families showed up, filling the chapel and the hallway and lining up outside. In the days that followed, hundreds more brought the total to 1,050, more than twice the number of people who applied by Thanksgiving last year.
"Lord, what are we going to do?" Deming recalled thinking. "Where are all the turkeys going to come from? I'm still thinking 'Where are all the turkeys going to come from?' "
At a time of widespread concern about joblessness and sky-high heating prices squeezing people this winter, relief organizations in communities across the state are facing profound increases in families seeking food and are girding for a spike in holiday demand. The Greater Boston Food Bank released a survey last week of 163 pantries and soup kitchens: Ninety percent reported a sharp increase in need.
"We're seeing both the individual who's on the edge has tipped over to the other side and the individual that never even could imagine needing a food pantry has found themselves unemployed or lost their homes," said Catherine D'Amato, president of the food bank, which supplies food to 600 hunger-relief agencies and food pantries, including some Salvation Army branches.
Between last October and May, the number of people turning to the Salvation Army for help with food or energy bills soared; in Framingham, requests were up 66 percent, in Hyannis 47 percent, and in Milford 48 percent. Greenfield experienced an eye-popping 86 percent spike.
The latest data are even more alarming: Cambridge served twice as many people in the soup kitchen this September as it did last September, and the number of families seeking help during the same period swelled from 117 to 145.
The high food prices that are squeezing consumers are squeezing relief organizations as well. Last year, the Food Bank bought Thanksgiving turkeys for 77 cents a pound. This year, the price soared to $1.06.
Concerned about raising enough money to meet the demand, Salvation Army bell-ringers will put out their kettles earlier than usual statewide for the first time - beginning Nov. 12 - in the hopes of restoring Christmastime donations that slipped 8 percent last year and are expected to drop further as larger donors and private foundations face their financial losses for the quarter.
"We're hoping at the very least to stay flat. But even if we stay flat, we're not going to be able to take care of the increasing needs," said Major Raphael Jackson, general secretary of the Massachusetts Division of the Salvation Army.
At the Salvation Army Fall River Corps food pantry - where demand went from 56 families in October 2007 to 150 last month - there are plenty of new faces. During a particularly busy month in September 2008, 165 families were served, 95 of them newcomers, said Deming.
Last week brought a 46-year-old Fall River woman who had been, for the first time ever, scrounging up change to buy her family's groceries - and was only able to buy about $60 worth, down from $150. Interviewed outside the food pantry, she declined to give her name out of concern for her husband's job, as well as sheer embarrassment.
"I didn't want any of my neighbors seeing me coming over here," said the woman. "My husband wouldn't even come in with me . . . I wouldn't even consider letting my son know."
Her chief concern is keeping the condo her family bought early this year for about $190,000 - a mortgage her husband's salary can pay. But since the woman left an untenable workplace - and has been unable to find another job - she no longer has enough money for utilities, gas, and food. A $500 deductible for repairs after a car accident put the bills over the edge. Now, she's coming to the food pantry and considering a job offer from the Salvation Army: ringing a bell by the red kettle for $8 an hour.
Like families and businesses tightening their belts this season, the Salvation Army finds itself making tough decisions.
Take Thanksgiving turkeys. This year, its South End Thanksgiving Distribution is 400 turkeys short - and officers are warning senior citizens who expected to pick up turkey dinners that the meals will be reserved for those who have families to feed. Seniors without children or grandchildren will have to go to group Thanksgiving dinners instead.
Whether the organizations will be able to raise enough money to meet the increasing need is an open question. A report by Giving USA Foundation released in September found that during recessions or economic slowdowns, charitable giving slows - but does not screech to a halt.
Last week, the Greater Boston Food Bank, Citizens Energy Corporation, the United Way, and the Red Cross were among the recipients of an unusual grant release by the Boston Foundation to help stem the local economic crisis. Unlike many foundations whose levels of giving ride the market, the Boston Foundation has an endowment that keeps its donations relatively level.
"We're trying to help the community rise to this occasion," said Paul S. Grogan, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation. "Of course, everyone's worried about the state budget cuts as well and how severely those will diminish the capacity of the nonprofit sector. Just at the moment human need will be the greatest, the public-sector capacity to support these agencies is going to contract."
Both the food pantry and the Salvation Army are hopeful that donors will step up to meet the increasing demands. The Salvation Army - an evangelical Christian relief organization - relies on something in short supply in many other corners these days: faith.
Major William H. Bode, commander of the Massachusetts division, choked up when he recalled how he used to be the one in an Ohio branch buying $40,000 worth of toys for Christmas and ordering $60,000 worth of food for the holidays. He would have it delivered later and promise to pay.
"We trust the Lord," Bode added. "And trust the donor."
Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com. Readers interested in donating turkeys or other items to the Salvation Army can call 617-542-5420 (ext. 410) or check the website www.salvationarmy-ma.org 