Food Insecurity An Issue For Families, Food Pantries
“There is no more normal.”
Barb Kaiman has seen normal in her more than two decades of service at the Mills County Storehouse in Glenwood. And she’s seen the decidedly abnormal the last 15 months has brought, first with last year’s devastating flooding and now the deadly pandemic that has had and is continuing to have on her community.
“There is no more normal for us here anymore,” Kaiman said.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with last year’s Missouri River flooding that upended the lives of more than 400 Pacific Junction families has put the food pantry that serves families and seniors citizens across the county in a permanent state of emergency.
“We’re all over the map, we don’t know what normal is anymore,” Kaiman said. “I don’t remember normal anymore with everything that’s happened. We might have had a ‘few weeks’ before this but we were still carrying about 50 flood families when this hit. Frankly, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen normal around here.”
The new normal began in mid-March with the public health emergency shuttering schools, businesses and, often times entire communities, to slow the spread of the deadly virus that has killed nearly 500 Iowans and infected 17,000 more.
With the stalled economy closely following the closings and social distancing mandated by state health agencies furthering the isolation and uncertainty, unemployment has risen to unprecedented levels. Food insecurity has seen a drastic increase in urban and rural communities and the need for community-based food pantries has never been greater.
In February, the Mills County Storehouse served 185 families. In March, that number jumped up to 240. Since then, Kaiman said, the numbers have been steady. They are currently serving more than 200 families monthly.
“Initially, I think people were terrified about losing their jobs and then we had a significant number of people who didn’t get unemployment checks and stimulus checks right out of the box,” Kaiman said, adding that financial gap sent many families to pantries like hers in the early weeks of the quarantine.
West Central Community Action is part of a statewide on-profit serving southwest Iowa through a variety of self-sufficiency programs. At its Malvern outreach center, Tracy Anderson said she has seen food pantry requests jump by up to three times normal.
“Between the schools closing and people not having jobs, their income has dropped dramatically,” Anderson said.
Lynn Mueller, who runs the Mills County Ministerial Association Food Pantry out of Grace United Methodist Church, saw a big spike in demand at the onset of the pandemic but has seen things level off since.
“We were very busy that first month,” Mueller said. “We also had a staff shortage because a lot of them were senior citizens so it was busy around here. It’s been different doing (curbside) pick up because so many of our customers enjoyed coming in and visiting with each other. That’s not happening now.”
The population served by the Mills County area’s food pantries are predominantly families with younger children and senior citizens. Most reach out because they have had an unexpected expense or trouble making ends meet. Often their needs are temporary and need-based.
With social distancing in place, many of the agencies serving Mills County have had to change how they distribute the food, how those seeking help choose what they need and how the pantry itself is stocked and replenished.
The increased demand and a decline in retail store donations has impacted the supply chain at most food pantries.
The Omaha-based Food Bank of the Heartland, who supplies provisions for more than 600 food pantries in Nebraska and Iowa including most in Mills County, has been “stretched” thin, Mueller said.
“For the last month, they haven’t had everything we need,” she said. Mueller said the ministerial association has purchased some items and they’ve sought other donations to supplement their provisions.
Kaiman said the Storehouse, which gets more than 60 percent of its provisions from the Food Bank, has had similar supply issues. The remainder is procured by donations or purchased from area grocery stores.
Despite their buying power, the Food Bank has had its own struggles in the supply chain and that has had a trickle down affect. Material scarcity was common for many necessities and fulfilling regional providers’ orders has been inconsistent.
“I’ve been here since the 90s and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kaiman said. “But then again, I said that last year. I’m not going to say that anymore.”
The increased demand has also taxed West Central Community Action’s supplies – “There were days we weren’t sure we were going to make it,” Anderson said – but grants and donations have allowed them to restock as needed to keep up.
West Central provides food for families according to household size. A typical meal package includes three meals a day plus snacks for four days. There are no income guidelines and they serve all of Mills County.
“Anyone can come to the food pantry that needs it,” Anderson said. “We’ve been kept busy.”
In addition to its pantry, West Central offers over 200 different resources and referrals to assist the community with anything from rent and energy assistance to childcare advocacy and senior service work.
There is no income threshold or a requirement to be on public assistance to visit the Mills County Ministerial Association Food Pantry.
“We’re available to all Mills County residents and we’re not income based,” Mueller said. “We do have some paperwork for each client to be filled out but nothing is based on income.”
The Storehouse is both an income-based and emergency food pantry, meaning during “normal” times those who receive groceries must qualify for public assistance. But during the current health crisis – and emergencies like last year’s flood – those protocols have been suspended.
“Coronavirus is an emergency, it doesn’t matter what your income is,” Kaiman said. “If you’re in quarantine with coronavirus, that’s an emergency and meeting your nutritional needs is something that is a priority for us.”
All the area agencies agree the school district’s decision to continue its meal programs throughout the pandemic has helped significantly, as has federally approved increases in SNAP funds to help families. But gaps in public assistance and pockets of food insecurity remain.
That’s exactly why the Storehouse made the decision to stay open at all costs very early in the pandemic.
Kaiman said the building has essentially been in “lockdown” since March 12 to prevent contamination and continue to serve the community safely – for staff and clients.
Kaiman calls every one of her families and reads them a list of what’s available in the pantry weekly. After the order, it’s then picked up at an appointed time. All volunteers wear gloves and masks and supplies are distributed through the Storehouse’s loading dock.
“We still want people to make their own selections and to meet their needs,” she said.
The Storehouse has also begun curbside delivery for those without transportation. A volunteer stepped up to make deliveries to quarantined families.
“I want everyone’s food needs to be met,” Kaiman said. “I don’t want food insecurity to be an issue while they’re trying to cope with quarantine. I think quarantine is enough to worry about.”
Kaiman, like many of her volunteers, are in the high risk demographic. But if they shut it down, and she and her staff shelter in place, families go hungry, she said. She’s been reluctant to tell volunteers not to come in but she’s operating from an entirely “safety first” approach. The paired back crew of volunteers, and Kaiman, wear masks and gloves in the building. The doors are locked and no customers are allowed in the building.
“We try to be careful and as safe as we can and stay true to our mission,” Kaiman said.
A further complication for the Storehouse has been economic. Since March 13, the thrift store that’s housed in the same building as the pantry and is a valuable source of income to purchase supplies has been closed. With no money coming in, they’ve sought more donations. A few benefactors have also stepped up in this unprecedented time to provide financial and material backing that’s helped keep the pantry’s cupboards full.
“The goodness of people always seems to come home,” Kaiman said.