In the wake of a mortgage crisis in which thousands have lost their homes and swelling unemployment that is leaving people unable to make ends meet, food banks, shelters and soup kitchens across Santa Cruz County are reporting record numbers of people seeking assistance.
In March, Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes saw 949 visits to its food pantry, an increase of 314 from the year before, according to executive director Patricia Morales.
Most of these, she said, were new. On Wednesday, 16 new clients added to the 45 who come daily for a bag of groceries that they hoped would carry them through the week.
In the past, the majority of clients were elderly and homeless people. Now, the pantry is seeing an increase in visits from families with children, said Morales.
“We’re seeing a lot more people who have never been clients seeking our services,” she said.
Morales attributed the increase to the burgeoning ranks of unemployed people, and to thousands of workers whose hours have been slashed.
“When they have to make the decision to pay the rent or buy food, that’s when they come to us,” she said.
In addition to its food pantry, Loaves and Fishes also serves a free daily hot lunch.
The increase in need will translate to an extra $66,000 this year, nearly $15,000 over what was projected, she said.
“This is a record,” she said. “We’ve never seen these numbers. It’s incredible.”
Loaves and fishes employs only three part-time staff members. The rest of the services depend on volunteers.
At Moreland Notre Dame School in Watsonville, where community service is part of the curriculum, the sixth-graders decided to collect as many paper grocery bags as they could, so the clients at Loaves and Fishes would have something in which to carry their food.
“A lot of the school helps out, and we wanted to collect bags, because if we don’t, they’ll have to pay for them,” said Christina Hernandez, 11, one of three student leaders who spearheaded the drive.
Hernandez, along with Jane Salady and Brandee Navarro, campaigned throughout the school, putting up posters, speaking at assemblies and visiting every class.
“Getting everybody to do it was the hard part,” said Salady.
“It feels good to help people, and it’s nice the whole school was able to participate,” said Navarro.
Purchased new, the bags cost 5 cents each, which can quickly add up and pose an extra financial burden on an already tenuous budget.
The bags add an important element to the food giveaway program, allowing those coming for free food to maintain the illusion they are returning from a shopping trip, thus maintaining their dignity, said Morales.
“These little things really help,” she said.”
Willy Elliot-McCrea, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County, said there’s been a 30-percent increase over last year throughout the 180 organizations the food bank serves.
In February 2008, about 42,000 people visited SHFB. This year, that number jumped to 51,000, said Elliot-McCrea.
“We’re seeing an increase of people who have never needed assistance before,” he said. “That’s what you’re seeing — people show up confused and bewildered because they never thought in their wildest dreams they would need the food bank.”
The faltering economy has forced residents to cut nonessential services such as house cleaners, groundskeepers and other blue-collar workers in the service industry. As a result, many of these people are seeking food relief for the first time. Additionally, 25 percent of the new clients are middle class people who have lost their jobs, said Elliot-McCrea.
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For information, call Second Harvest Food Bank at 722-7110, or visit www.thefoodbank.org, Loaves and Fishes at 722-4144, or visit members.cruzio.com/~loavesandfishes and Meals on Wheels at 464-3180, or visit www.communitybridges.org/meals.htm
For the complete article see the 04-11-2009 issue.
Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 04-11-2009 paper.
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