Use of food banks surging
Pantries in region battling crisis fueled by inflation
There are a lot of hungry people in Lehigh County.
“We’re seeing at least 370 new families each month — something that we have never seen at the food bank,” said Beverly Levenson, who serves as president of the board of directors for the Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank.
In August, the food bank at 417 N. 14th St. served 7,832 people or 2,028 families, of which 30% were children, Levenson said. That is an increase of more than 230% compared to the same month last year, when it served 2,328 people — or 676 families.
Officials at the food bank Wednesday afternoon hosted an open house to celebrate the opening of a client choice pantry. While the food bank has served the city for more than four decades, switching to a client choice model gives hungry residents more variety, officials said. In making the change, the food bank joins many across the region that have already pivoted to this model.
Leveson said the client choice model helps give back control to those residents using the pantry.
“This gives them an opportunity to come and make the decision for their families,” Leveson said. “In a client choice pantry, they can choose at least food that they know is right for their family. Having that opportunity is an enticement for more people to come.”
Inflation continued to ravage consumers in August after a summer of rising costs for food, fuel and other necessities.
Energy prices were up 23.8%, at-home food prices increased by 13.5%, and overall consumer prices for the 12 months ended in August increased 8.3%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday morning.
Other food pantries around the Lehigh Valley are also feeling the need to grow. Connie Pierce, a volunteer since 2020 at Central Mora
vian Food Pantry in the unit block of West Church Street in Bethlehem, said it’s been “wildly busy.”
“Each week, there’s more,” Pierce said. “We get new families all the time.”
In addition to packaging meals for elderly clients who can’t physically make it to Central Moravian’s distribution days, the food bank operates a client choice model, Piece said. Residents can pick and choose what they want, driving down waste.
Marc Rittle, executive director of New Bethany Ministries in the 300 block of West Fourth Street in Bethlehem, said the food bank has seen a 150% increase in the number of clients served since January.
“We haven’t had a problem feeding people, but if we didn’t have the choice pantry in the way that is set up now, we wouldn’t have been able to feed people at the scale that we’re seeing the need,” he said. “…
Another thing that has not changed is that we see people at the beginning of the month just as much as we see people at the end of the month.”
For low-income families, the end of the month can be tough, because government assistance is usually issued at the start of the month and can quickly run out, Rittle explained. When clients visit the pantry throughout the month, it acts as a warning for volunteers that the need is growing.
And many in the Lehigh Valley are hungry. One in 10 people living in the Valley, or about 69,000 residents, are food insecure, according to the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. And, more than half are not eligible for assistance because their income marks them above the poverty line, which sits at about $28,000 for a family of four.
New Bethany started using the client choice model in 2018, Rittle said. Just like the Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank, which moved to its new location to help support the client choice model,
New Bethany had to expand its food storage, too.
“We moved our food pantry to a larger space to accommodate more refrigeration and freezers, and also to be able to have temperature controlled units installed,” he explained. “… You would think that choice just means the person coming to the pantry gets to choose what they want. Well, if you only have cans and boxes, then they don’t have too much of a choice, so you also have to provide the variety.”
Volunteers also label foods for clients on a green-yellow-red scale, from most healthiest to least, he said. This way, clients and coordinators can help balance the food given out to families.
“It incentivizes healthy choices,” Rittle explained. “If you know what you’re getting, that means that you can also have a conversation with people.”
And, if clients don’t want a particular food item, they don’t have to take it.
“What we found is that usually, at some point, somebody wants each type of food that we are receiving,” he said. “That’s what I think about the choice as well, that actually goes to families who, in turn, won’t throw it away.”
Officials aren’t expecting inflation to cool anytime soon, instead preparing to support clients during the upcoming months.
“I think our feeling is it’s going to continue to grow rather than shrink,” Pierce said. “With everything you read about inflation, and with winter coming, with rents and with all the increases — they keep saying even with gas going down, it’s not really down, it’s just going down a little bit.”
But, while the need has increased, monetary and food donations have not, said Anne Egan, executive director of Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank.
“We’re doing OK with volunteers, but we really could use more,” she said, adding that residents can reach out if they’re interested in helping or making a donation. “It is such a significant increase, but we have not at all seen a significant increase in donations.”
While the food bank launched the client choice model in May, Wednesday’s event was a chance to pause, celebrating the changes that aim to uplift and support residents who are struggling.
“Food insecurity, as we all know, has a huge impact on one’s health creating long term, chronic problems,” Levenson said. “And for children, this impacts their ability to learn and grow. And our hope is that with the community’s support, whether it’s through financial donations, or through food or volunteering at the food bank, we can continue to work together to provide relief to those in need.
“We realize we can’t eliminate hunger,” she continued. “But we are committed to serve those people who struggle with food insecurity. And the food bank is here to stay in Allentown and we will continue to serve the entire Lehigh County.”