Bob Hennelly
WNYC's Bob Hennelly is an award-winning investigative journalist. While at WNYC he has reported on a wide gamut of major public policy questions ranging from immigration and homeland security to power outages and utility mergers.
New Jersey's Food Pantries Swamped With New Demand
Thursday, November 26, 2009
New York, NY –
In New Jersey double-digit unemployment and thousands of foreclosures are stressing the state's network of 800 food pantries, which are being swamped by families and individuals with nowhere else to turn. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this report.
REPORTER: Across the Garden State emergency food providers and soup kitchens are reporting at least a 30 percent jump from last year. Areas feeling the distress include places like historically wealthy Upper Saddle River, as Brian Lehrer heard when Tony called WNYC.
LEHRER: Do I gather that you are on the brink of having to go to a food pantry for the first time? TONY: You know it is inevitable after being in business for so long that you have to turn for assistance. I am used to giving not taking.
REPORTER: Anthony Guido with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey confirmed that no zip code is exempt.
GUIDO: And we have heard those stories too , folks that donate, volunteer their time to us here are next in line. It is really unfortunate. It is widespread. it is in every county. It is not just the low income areas anymore.
REPORTER: New Jersey has already appropriated $4 million this year to help badly depleted food pantry shelves. Governor Corzine said the state might have to spend additional emergency money to help meet the demand that he said has jumped in some locations by as much as 70 percent. Guido says the real challenge may come after the holidays.
GUIDO: Everyone is concerned with our cause November-December. But what happens in January when that Governor's money is not there anymore and the holiday concern from the general public sort of goes away.
REPORTER: Guido says the next big challenge after meeting people's immediate food needs is to get them signed up for Food Stamps which can mean as much as $600 a month to families who qualify.
According to Federal numbers New Jersey has a lot of work to do. It ranks near the bottom of states when it comes to the percentage of those eligible actually being enrolled in the program. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly.
or more information on what you can do to help New Jersey families in need go to our news blog.
Comments [1]
Your listeners/readers may want to visit www.AmpleHarvest.org - a site that helps diminish hunger by enabling backyard gardeners to share their crops with neighborhood food pantries.
The site is free both for the food pantries and the gardeners using it.
Backed by Google.com and the USDA, more than 2,400 food pantries nationwide are already on it and more are signing up daily.
It includes preferred delivery times, driving instructions to the pantry as well as (in many cases) information about store bought items also needed by the pantry (for after the growing season).
If your community has a food pantry, make sure they register on www.AmpleHarvest.org.
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