FEEDING THE HUNGRY

Food pantries may be needed now more than ever.

After all businesses have closed and millions of people have lost their jobs as many parts of New York State and the country have shut down in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This week, social distancing guidelines were extended until April 30 across the United States which means people physically won’t be going back to work for at least a month and likely two.

People in the Diocese of Albany without jobs and those struggling to put food on the table will need help and the food pantries run by Catholic Charities stand ready and are operating in full swing with an army of workers and volunteers. 

“I am amazed at how dedicated our staff is to helping the people we serve,” said Vincent W. Colonno, Catholic Charities CEO. “I’ve seen a lot of people saying, ‘Look for the helpers.’ Well, I think our staff is the perfect example of that. They’re continuing to show up, even when it’s challenging.” 

Sandy Dollard, owner of Evoke Style in Stuyvesant Plaza, reached out to Catholic Charities to see how she could help during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“Everyone is pulling together, we are following all the rules and regs to keep everyone safe as possible during this crisis,” Dollard said, who is a new volunteer at CoNSERNS-U in Rensselaer. “We have an organization that is together banning to get the food out smoothly. This experience has been great.” 

Eileen Spath, director of marketing and communications manager for Catholic Charities, said the method of how people receive food has changed but the mission remains the same. 

“Typically, we allow visitors to "shop" at our pantries. They can choose which food items are best for them, and can tailor choices like what vegetable they'd like based on their family's taste,” Spath said. “In order to protect visitors and staff alike, some sites have had to move to providing people with pre-packed bags of food, which are given out based on family size. Bags are distributed at the front door, as nobody beyond necessary staff and volunteers are permitted in the building. In other places, the service has been adapted to maintain six feet of distance between visitors and staff at all times. Volunteers and staff have access to gloves and we're washing down surfaces regularly.”

The Roarke Art Center in Troy, an agency that operates under Catholic Charities’ Tri-County Services, is just one local agency that provides emergency food assistance along with other creative art programs for those in need. The food pantry operates Monday and Friday from 9-12 p.m. and 1-3 p.m., and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1-3 p.m.

As a safety precaution during the pandemic at this location, no one is allowed inside the building. “We open the door (and) we collect some basic information,” said Salley Zgolinski, a supervisor for the Roarke Center, before volunteers bring out bags of prepared food. 

The bags are packed with various non-perishable foods such as canned meats and vegetables, spaghetti, cereal, juices and more. The distribution of bags is based on the number of adults or children per family.

“We have standard bags that're designed for a family of one or two, so if you’re a family of three or four, you get two sets of bags,” Zgolinski said. Each bag provides three meals for one person, but as of now, “people can come back whenever they need food.

Zgolinski noted that there “is definitely an increased need” for food assistance since the outbreak.

“Generally we are seeing about double our numbers, and we're seeing a lot of new people,” Zgolinski said. “So people who haven't used the food pantry are utilizing it now. Maybe their hours got cut or they were a server or worked at a restaurant.”

Just last week, Catholic Charities participated in a food distribution in Amsterdam that brought in 532 people; double the number of typical monthly food drops, said Spath. And a record 3.3 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits over the last few weeks, according to the Washington Post. 

“What we're seeing now, though, is new faces - people coming to the pantries as a direct result of the coronavirus, whether they've been laid off or can't find what they need somewhere else,” said Spath, who added that the biggest need remains gloves, masks and sanitizers as well as monetary donations. ”This is certainly a cause for concern, and an indicator that the demand at our pantries and other outreach sites will increase as the virus progresses.”  

For the Roarke Center, the increased need is coupled with a drop in volunteers. A majority of volunteers who assist the food pantry are elderly, the age group most likely to be impacted by the virus. Many have opted to stay home for personal safety. 

Still, the pantries are fully operating: “The people who work with me and for me are incredibly dedicated to making sure that people are fed,” Zgolinski said. “They really have stepped up and put any really petty things aside to make sure people have access to food.”

For more information or to donate, visit the Catholic Charities website at http://www.ccrcda.org/.