Food pantries increasing fresh produce in monthly allocations
In July 2015, Corner Cupboard Food Bank, which oversees 11 food pantries in Greene County, began providing fresh produce to its mix of food items.
Greg Phillips, a volunteer a Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s Produce to People program, assists a family to their car with food from the distribution. Produce to People provides individuals and families with 30 to 50 pounds of food, mostly fresh produce, in West Greene once a month at Harvey’s Grange in Graysville.
Mary Canny, volunteers at Produce to People giving out apples to families and individuals in need. “It’s really been life enhancing work,” Mary says about her time volunteering to end hunger in our region. (Photos courtesy of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank)
Since their founding, Greene County’s 11 food pantries have been distributing shelf stable, canned and boxed food items to its food insecure recipients.
In July 2015, Corner Cupboard Food Bank, which oversees the pantries, began providing fresh produce to its mix of food items.
Early on, much of the shelf stable food had been donated by food processors and manufacturers, but, as they got a grip on product demand, they better synchronized production with market demand. As a result, they donated fewer commodities to the food banks because of a diminished surplus of production.
At the same time, when food bank workers talked to recipients, they discovered an overwhelming demand for fresh produce. In September 2014, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (GPCFB), which cooperates directly with Corner Cupboard, decided to add fresh produce to the mix of what recipients can take home to feed their families — mostly carrots, potatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, squash, onions and apples. In season, produce like strawberries, peaches, sweet corn and oranges are also added to the list.
“Some families may not have used before some of the items like peaches, so we gave them healthy recipes so they’d get the most value out of the commodities,” said Beth Snyder, public relations coordinator for the GPCFB. “Fresh produce gives people with health issues such as diabetes and obesity an opportunity to eat more nutritious meals.”
According to Snyder, an estimated six billion pounds of produce nationwide is not making it out of the fields and onto the plates of Americans, mainly because there’s no purchaser for the surplus commodities. Leftovers are usually plowed back into the fields as nourishment for the following year’s crops.
“Locally, a lot of area farms donate a ton of produce to the food bank, but we also purchase additional product for our recipients,” Snyder said.
From a central location in Pittsburgh, the produce is distributed in refrigerated trucks to the outlying areas, including Corner Cupboard, located at 881 Rolling Meadows Road in Waynesburg.
“This is a great opportunity for us to inspire our clients with better eating habits,” said Candace Tustin, Corner Cupboard executive director. “The GPCFB reaches out to the various food banks to determine the best date to deliver the products they want so as little as possible goes to waste.”
In addition to the produce delivered to Corner Cupboard from the GPCFB, a few local farmers and food vendors at the farmers markets have donated leftover produce, and Wal-Mart donates fruits and vegetables as well as other foods such as breads and meats to Corner Cupboard three times a week.
Out of the 11 food pantries that Corner Cupboard oversees, township workers from nine of them pick up the food orders and deliver it to the pantry sites, although Corner Cupboard does deliver to Wayne and Franklin townships.
“All of the people who staff the pantries are volunteers,” Tustin said. “Corner Cupboard has a two-person staff, and we would not be able to do what we do without our volunteers.”
Since Corner Cupboard first started introducing fresh produce in July 2015, the total percentage of fresh produce given to recipients in July 2016 increased to 40 percent of the total food distributed through the pantries (40,024 total versus 15,459 fresh produce).
“By the year 2025, we would like to see fresh produce constitute 50 percent of what we provide, so we hope to continue to grow this component to make sure that happens,” Snyder said. “The healthier our recipients are the more successful they’ll be in their work and personal life, enabling them to become positive contributors to society.”
Information provided by Corner Cupboard and the GPCFB:
n In Greene County, 5,150 people or 13.4 percent of the county’s residents are deemed food insecure, defined as those having sporadic access to food. While waiting for a paycheck, for example, parents may coast on a meal a day so their children can eat two. Hunger isn’t necessarily a constant in these households.
For some of these folks, organizations like food pantries and after-school programs provide a lifeline that allows them relief from having to make tough decisions between paying for food and things like medicine or housing.
n An estimated 52 percent of partner food programs (including Corner Cupboard Food Bank) in the state of Pennsylvania reported an increase in the volume of clients coming to the program in the past 12 months.
n Pennsylvania’s Feeding America member food banks serve 2,075,800 people annually, including 532,692 children and 246,392 seniors (aged 65 and up).
n Weekly, 227,500 unique clients in this state are served by Pennsylvania’s Feeding America member food banks.
n 47 percent of charitable agencies served by Pennsylvania’s Feeding America member food banks employ no paid staff and are operated exclusively by volunteers.
n 77 percent of households report purchasing inexpensive, unhealthy food because they could not afford healthier options.
n 65 percent of households report having to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medicinal care.
n 56 percent of households have a member with high blood pressure, and 32 percent of households include a member with diabetes.