Emergency food needs are up, study shows

A sluggish economy in recession, layoffs and even the events of Sept. 11 have increased the need for emergency food this year, nationally and regionally as well as locally.

According to a release from Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina in Winston-Salem, distribution last month exceeded October 2000 by 100,000 pounds. Of Second Harvest's member agencies, 68 percent reported they are serving more clients than before.

Alleghany County Department of Social Services now has 284 ongoing Food Stamp cases, said Director Sandra Ashley. That represents an increase from an average of 260 cases this time last year. Those 284 households represent a total of 484 persons.

Last year DSS averaged 24 new Food Stamp cases a month, said Ashley. This year the number is 35, due to unemployment benefits about to run out. She said it can take a family 30 days to be approved for Food Stamps. In the meantime, in emergency situations, DSS refers clients to local emergency food box programs at Sparta First Baptist Church and Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in Glade Valley.

Those two programs are also member agencies of Second Harvest NWNC, which serves an 18-county area including Alleghany. Other member agencies in Alleghany are the emergency food program at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Laurel Springs, Alleghany Group Homes, the Adult Developmental Vocational Program and Blue Ridge Opportunities Commission Head Start.

Carol Anderson, director of the food pantry at Mount Carmel, said food distribution has increased. "It's up because of the unemployment rate," she said. "We expect it to get a lot worse than it is now."' Anderson said Monday that the church's program had dispensed food to 28 people so far in November. For each person, a week's supply, three meals per day, is given.

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