During this difficult time, who has been helping those who need it?

 

Richard Brogden, the director of the Action Food Pantry in Covina, California, has been feeding families in his local area for over a decade in a volunteer capacity. Since the pandemic, Brogden has gone from feeding 25 families a day to over 75, meaning that he feeds over 8,000 people a week. 

Brogden cited job loss as the major reason why more people are facing food insecurity than before the pandemic began. This is due to the multiple shutdowns which have put many business owners and employees out of work.

About 20.6 million jobs have been lost during the pandemic, according to the Center for Infectious Disease and Research. For comparison, only 8.7 million people lost their jobs during the last recession in 2008. 

This sudden rise in unemployment means that people are in need of food to help them make it from week to week. The pandemic numbers for those facing food insecurity is 54 million, which include 18 million children. This means that the current child hunger rate has more than doubled since last year, and thirty seven percent of parents are having to either cut or skip their children’s meals. 

Food insecurity at any stage of life can lead to a host of mental health struggles which include decreased productivity in adulthood. Therefore, being able to access consistent resources is crucial for families that are choosing how to spend their limited resources during the ongoing pandemic. 

The food pantry in Covina has been on the front lines of helping people receive the resources that they need. However, there has been a crisis that has come with an increase in demand and a decrease in supply. 

The pantry only purchases, accepts and gives out non-perishable foods. Unfortunately, since more people are eating at home, many have been using the items that would normally be used by the food pantry to feed their own families at home. In addition, with the waves of fear that people go through in regards to the virus, many families stockpile these items. Due to these issues, the food pantry has struggled to keep up with the demand of those in need. 

With this change in what is available, people have also changed what they donate. The food pantry has been able to take in a significant amount of money due to the generosity of 12 local churches. However, food donations have plummeted. This means that what once was a reliable source of non-perishable food items has now become all but non-existent. 

However, people have attempted to give what they have more of during the pandemic: time. While many of the elderly volunteers at Action Food Pantry have had to stop serving in order to stay safe, many younger people from churches and the surrounding vicinity have taken their place. 

Yet, even this process has not run smoothly. Because some individuals fear the COVID-19 test, many possible volunteers have been turned away. Brogden states that this is a difficult choice, but he must protect both the volunteers and the community by enforcing the COVID-19 testing rule. 

So what can people do to help the food pantries in their area that help so many? Brogden said that the best thing that people can do to support the work they are doing is to donate food whenever possible. With the decrease in food supply, anything that people can give helps tremendously. To do the work that is essential, they need the thing that is essential to life: food.