‘Help in any way you can’
Leader of Feeding America stops at Berks food bank to urge and encourage
Before the COVID pandemic, a stroll through the aisles of the cavernous Helping Harvest warehouse in Spring Township would reveal plenty of empty spaces on the shelves.
Since the outbreak began nearly a year ago, demand on the food bank serving Berks and Schuylkill counties has grown exponentially, stretching the limitations of the facility and its workforce.
Helping Harvest distributed almost twice the volume of food in 2020 than the previous year, and no relief is expected in 2021, food bank President Jay Worrall said.
It was unfathomable that the warehouse at Route 724 and Morgan Drive would be challenged for space when the food bank relocated there from Muhlenberg Township more than six years ago, he said.
“We expected this facility to serve the needs of our community for a very long time, maybe forever,” Worrall said. “But our volume is up 90% year over year, and that means a lot more food in this warehouse going in or out. We’re challenged for space right now.”
Worrall said he’s proud of the way the Berks and Schuylkill communities have stepped up with donations and volunteerism and how his team of 30 fulltime and 20 temporary employees has handled the increased load to help meet needs during the worst food crisis since the Great Depression.
So is Claire BabineauxFontenot, CEO of Feeding America, a national network of food banks that includes Helping Harvest.
Babineaux-Fontenot toured the Helping Harvest warehouse Jan. 20 after meeting with Worrall for about an hour.
She oversees the nation’s largest domestic hungerrelief organization. Feeding America’s network of about 200 food banks service 60,000 food pantries and meals programs.
It was Babineaux-Fontenot’s first visit to Berks.
She told reporters she came to show appreciation for the community for stepping up to help people who may be their neighbors, and for the team on the ground for making it happen.
“About 40% of those relying on us for help right now have never before relied upon charitable help,” she said.
Estimates are that one in six Americans is food insecure, Babineaux-Fontenot said. In some counties, one in two children lives in a food insecure household.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active lifestyle.
“Unfortunately, this is a marathon, not a sprint,” Babineaux-Fontenot said. “If the last Great Recession (in 2008) is any indication, it took a decade to return to prerecession rates of food insecurity.”
Babineaux-Fontenot said there’s a better safety network in place this time around, and she’s confident “we can do better.”
Still, she said, it’s important for people in the community to keep in mind that there are people, perhaps who live next door, who are struggling now and probably have been for quite a while.
“So please continue to help in the way that you have,” she said. “And we say in our work that we need food, fun and friends. Help in any way you can. There’s no amount that’s too small or two large.”
Babineaux-Fontenot delighted in talking to the warehouse workers, asking them if they realize the work they do is helping put food in the bellies of children in their community.
“How do you feel about this, being able to do this?” she asked Santiago Costaneda, fulfillment supervisor, adding that she personally feels privileged to have a hand in getting food to those in need.
Costaneda said his work has meaning because he has been on the front lines, seeing the faces of the men, women and children who turn out to food pantries and the pop-up, drivethrough distributions.
“Santiago really has been pushing the guys that work for him to go out and help distribute food when they have time,” Worrall interjected. “So he’s been making room in their schedule to send them out so they can see that their job isn’t just moving food around in the warehouse. Their job really is feeding people in need.”
“It’s a big eye-opener,” Costaneda said. “A lot of people don’t see it. It’s not part of (their daily living). Then when they do get to see it, it’s a big change. It really is. They know who we’re feeding and why we’re doing it.”