Pastor Rick Clemson says American Primitive Methodist Church feeds 500 families a month through its Tamaqua food pantry program.
“We have some people that have been coming since we started in 2017,” he said. “There’s always a need.”
Such needs only continue to grow.
As the holidays approach, the state budget impasse continues and the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, communities around Northeast Pennsylvania are pitching in to help stock the food banks and pantries that distribute food to those who need it most.
American Primitive Methodist Church is among the entities that benefit from one such effort in Schuylkill County.
Tamaqua Hunger Campaign
The annual Tamaqua Hunger Campaign raises funds for local food pantries with various events each October.
The Tamaqua Area Faith Fellowship Network organizes the campaign, now in its 14th year. It is a nonprofit consisting of members of area churches and operates as part of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership.
In addition to American Primitive Methodist Church, the monthlong campaign also benefits Trinity United Church of Christ, Stokes Ministries and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The campaign relies on a mix of fundraising activities.
Church groups and individuals make soup for the annual soup sale. Sunday, Oct. 19 is the last day to order. Pick up will be Oct. 25 at St. John XXIII Catholic Church.
Boyer’s Market started a Feed a Family program this year to add to the campaign. Customers are given the option to buy a bag of non-perishable food items for $10 that is taken right to the food pantries.
“We’re always looking for ways to give back to the community,” said Brian Clemson, manager of Boyer’s Market in Tamaqua.
They will sell the Feed a Family bags again at the store on Sunday, Oct. 19.
And for the week of Oct. 12-18, the community was asked to fast for one meal, according to Glenn Fritzinger of the Tamaqua Hunger Campaign Planning Committee.
“What we ask people to do is pick a day of the week and then pick a meal, lunch, breakfast or dinner," Fritzinger explained. "And the money that you save on that meal is what we ask you to donate.”
'There’s no state food coming'
Most of the food distributed at the American Primitive Methodist Church pantry comes from food banks, and the Tamaqua Hunger Campaign gives the food pantry an extra boost before the holidays.
More than a dozen volunteers work to fill boxes at American Primitive Methodist Church for their food distribution days twice a month.
Pastor Rick says the volunteers have been doing it for so long, they know exactly what to do. But food sources have not been as reliable.
“Right now, there’s no state food coming,” the pastor said.
As state lawmakers fail to agree on a budget, food banks have not seen state funding since July.
Jennifer Warabak is executive director of the CEO Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank, which serves Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties.
“What we've been doing to supplement that is using our general funds,” she said. “As well as we've had a tremendous amount of support from our community, from individual donations, from foundation donations, that allow us to continue to purchase food.”
Federal funding pinch felt on many levels
On the federal level, recent cuts to the Department of Agriculture mean less funding for food banks.
“Every administration comes in and makes changes to policies and how food flows into the charitable food network. This was just much faster and much more aggressive than we've seen. So catching up to that has been a little bit of a challenge," said Shila Ulrich, CEO of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, which serves 27 counties through hubs in Harrisburg and Williamsport.
And as a result of the federal government shutdown, nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians no longer have access to benefits through SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low income families.
“All of these things just kind of piled together has created a little bit of a perfect storm for us,” Ulrich continued. “So the need is great, and we're working hard to make sure that we meet it.”
Cuts to the USDA's Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, LFPA, also affect local farmers because those funds are used to purchase food from them. Ulrich says that cut equates to a loss of $170,000 a month for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.
Fall Food-Giving Campaign
CEO Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, WVIA and Weis Markets have partnered up for the Fall Food-Giving Campaign.
From now through Oct. 24, the group collects donations for both food banks. Weis Markets will match up to $35,000 worth of food to donate to CEO Weinberg and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.
Partners will provide personal stories and insight on WVIA radio Oct. 22 - 24 to wrap up the campaign.
“Hunger is a silent crisis. It's happening in every municipality and every township and every community across the Commonwealth,” Ulrich said. "We're hopeful that people will hear our story and hear the message and know that ... we're working really hard to get food on tables across our service territory."
"It's so important that we're stressing what we're seeing every day," Warabak said. "To spread the message of how big of an issue food insecurity is in our area, and ways to support that initiative. It's really been very beneficial."
