Holidays highlight local hunger issues

Pantries, churches, schools offer food for those in need

For many, the holidays are a time when the major issue with food is concern about overeating.

For others, the holidays are just like the days before and the days after, when the big issue with food -- and perhaps the big issue, period -- is worry about having enough.

One of the ways society deals with that concern is the charity system, which in Blair County, includes the Altoona Food Bank.

That organization is relocating this week from the 2100 block of Sixth Avenue to a renovated building on the 2300 block of North Branch Avenue, not far from the new home of Blair County Community Action Agency and the future location of Family Services' homeless shelter -- both of which have missions that intersect with the food bank's.

At 50-by-80 feet, the new place is bigger, with room enough for a more practical reception area and more refrigerator and freezer space, which will allow for an expanded menu of offerings, including more produce and dairy products, according to Treasurer Linda Noonan. There is also more parking, she said.

Founded in 1979, the organization is an agency of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Harrisburg -- from which it obtains products at discount -- with a board, but no paid employees, operating on community donations and grants, Noonan said.

It has about 3,000 households in its database and provides monthly giveaways to an average of about 250 households, most of them "regulars," according to Noonan.

The COVID-19 shutdowns led to a brief run on the food bank's offerings in April, when people "panicked," Noonan said.

But that subsided after churches and other groups "stepped up," and things have been mostly steady since then -- although mitigation requirements have led to changes, including handling paperwork outside, people are no longer asked about their household size, and everyone now gets a generous outlay of food, rather than three days' worth based on family size.

Recipients must have incomes of less than 150% of the federal poverty level, based on state regulations, Noonan said.

Occasionally, the need of recipients is striking.

Two days before Christmas, a woman called the food bank from a local hotel, where she was staying with her 15-year-old daughter.

They not only had no food, but they had money and no transportation, Noonan said.

They loaded a box with food, a can opener, other kitchen necessities and toiletries, and they added money, she said.

"She was very grateful," Noonan said. "They were in pretty bad shape."

She doesn't know how the woman came to be in those circumstances.

"That was not my issue," she said. "My issue was to feed them."

The frequency of such encounters is probably going to increase after the homeless shelter is built, she said.

Worsening times

Yvonne Mills and her husband, Tyrone, came to the new location Wednesday and discovered it was closed, because it's always closed during the week between Christmas and New Year's.

She and her husband receive disability assistance and food stamps, but it's not enough, so they have been coming for months to the food bank.

"It helps out," Yvonne said.

Things have worsened since the pandemic began, she said.

From the food bank, they get canned goods, spaghetti sauce, bread, cakes, butter, eggs, toilet paper and soap, she said.

"They're nice people," she said of the volunteers who work there.

Noonan has seen more financial stress during the pandemic than at any time since the recession of 2008, she said.

Lots of people have lost jobs, many of them restaurant workers, including wait staff who depend on day-to-day income from tips, she said.

The stress is aggravated when they have kids, and it's further aggravated when those kids are out of school, because they can't eat breakfast and lunch there, Noonan said.

Community Action has adjusted its backpack food giveaway, which is connected with the schools, but that doesn't offset the loss of the in-school meals, she said.

Related to financial troubles and further aggravating the food insecurity is the frequent lack of a car, Noonan said.

Many people, including those who live near the food bank's old and new locations, are far from the nearest grocery store, she said.

Walking a long way to buy food is difficult, and walking back with even a modest amount of food is even harder, she said.

"That's an issue for a lot of people," she stated.

Breakups also contribute to food insecurity, especially for men, she said.

"If you're living with someone, and they cook and do the shopping, and then they're not there, you don't know quite what to do," Noonan said. "A lot of single men come through here."

Nehemiah Project

While the Altoona Food Bank is non-denominational, the Nehemiah Project of Lower Fairview, which also helps feed the poor, is Christianity-based.

Nehemiah has served about 60,000 meals since the pandemic began, CEO Peter Joudry said.

"It is the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ that we are responsible for others' needs," Joudry said.

There are various reasons why people are poor, he said.

Some observers might be inclined to ask whether they all deserve the help they're seeking, he said.

"But I am not called on to judge the reason they may or may not be poor," Joudry said. "I'm called on to use the resources I have to meet the needs."

Moreover, it's not fitting to congratulate oneself for such an effort, according to Joudry.

"We are privileged to be able to feed people," he said. "The blessing is for us."

He can't quantify the level of food security in this area, he said.

But "a lot have come through who say, 'I've never done this before,'" he said.

One recipient who approached in a car caught the attention of a Nehemiah volunteer -- who turned away before he was spotted and told fellow workers he couldn't approach that car.

It was the volunteer's next-door neighbor, and the volunteer knew the neighbor would be mortified if seen, Joudry said.

"A lot of people are surprised to be in the position they're in," Joudry said. "I've seen a lot of tears."

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.