Food assistance programs busier in tough economy

WINSTED — With a national jobless rate now at 10.2 percent — the highest it has been in more than 25 years — thousands of families are struggling to make ends meet. As a result, food banks and soup kitchens across the country are seeing a sharp increase in the number of people seeking assistance.

Locally, over the last several months, volunteers say they have experienced a dramatic upward shift in activity.

“When I get here at 11 a.m., people are usually already lined up from the desk to the door,†Philip Fay, a Winsted resident and volunteer at the Salvation Army Services Center food bank on Main Street, said Tuesday.

The food bank is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m.

“The evening hours are specifically set aside for working families who can’t come during the day,†said Irene Mosher, a senior field representative who manages the center.

To determine if a resident qualifies for the food pantry program, the resident is required to fill out a form. But Mosher said the form is is a “simple one†and only takes a few minutes to fill out.

“And they only need to do that once a year,†she said, adding that the applications are renewed each January.

The facility receives a large portion of its supplies from the Connecticut Food Bank. The Winsted center then supplements that with individual and group donations, both money and nonperishable goods, to help stock its shelves.

While local churches, civic organizations and other local groups have been supportive in their collection and donation efforts, volunteers at the food bank said the demand still often outweighs the available supplies.

“We are seeing about five or six new families each month,†Mosher said. “And that’s a high amount.â€

The number of residents seeking assistance at the Open Door soup kitchen has also dramatically increased.

The kitchen, which sits behind the St. James Episcopal Church on Main Street, now serves an average of 50 hot meals a day.

Two years ago, the group averaged about 30 meals a day. Last year it was about 40.

“We’re seeing a lot of new faces, and they are younger families, too. People in their early 30s and 40s, with children,†Helen Nay, Open Door’s kitchen manager, said.

The kitchen is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. until close.

Open Door will host a special Thanksgiving Day buffet Thursday, Nov. 26.

“We are going to have a party,†Nay said with a smile.

This upward tick in families requesting food assistance has become a nationwide concern. On Monday, the United States Department of Agriculture released its annual report on America’s household food security.

The report revealed that last year, some 17 million households or 14.6 percent were “food insecure,†or families who had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year.

This is an increase from 13 million households or 11.1 percent in 2007. The department reported that last year’s numbers were the highest since the survey began in 1995.

But that news did not surprise Winsted’s local food pantry and soup kitchen volunteers.

Nay, who has been with Open Door since the kitchen opened in October 1991, said this is the highest sustained volume of residents that the nonprofit organization has served over an extended period of time.

Still, donations to the kitchen have been steady, she said, allowing volunteers to make sure whoever comes to the door is certain not to go away hungry.

“Come in and eat,†Nay said.

To help, The Journal is sponsoring a community food drive this holiday season. All donations will be distributed to the Salvation Army’s food bank and the Open Door Soup Kitchen.

Residents are asked to donate nonperishable goods at The Winsted Journal office, 396 Main St., at the corner of Main and Elm streets, during office hours, Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Donations may also be arranged by appointment; call the office at 860-738-4418.

As a thank you for your donation, The Journal is offering each donor a free classified ad to run for one week in the newspaper and on the Web site, tcextra.com.  For more information, call The Journal office at 860-738-4418.

The Salvation Army Service Center food bank is at 110 Main St. in Winsted. For more information, call 860-379-8444.

The Open Door Soup Kitchen is behind the St. James Episcopal Church at 160 Main St. in Winsted. For more information, call 860-738-2449.