Local Food Pantries Seeing An Increase In Families Seeking Assistance
January 20, 2021 at 11:49 p.m.
Local Food Pantries Seeing An Increase In Families Seeking Assistance
By Amanda Bridgman-
The COVID-19 pandemic has put her in a tough spot – the need for her volunteer work at the pantry is growing but the catering business she used to keep afloat has gone under.
“We established Our Father’s House to serve the needs of the poor,” Morgan said. “It’s a right, not a privilege, to eat.”
Morgan used to serve up hot meals she and other volunteers would cook at a dining room on Argonne Road years ago. They decided they’d fund it with a thrift shop, selling donated items at discounted rates. As that thrift shop started expanding and getting more furniture, the nonprofit moved to its current location at 2114 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw.
The catering business took off and she found herself being hired to cater annual events such as the Right To Life North Central Indiana banquet, that pulls in hundreds of people. Local companies would hire her to cater events and lunches.
Those gatherings aren’t happening anymore, thanks to the pandemic, which means that catering business she stood on to keep Our Father’s House serving the needs of the poor has fallen out from underneath her.
“COVID shut it down,” Morgan said. “We lost Christmas parties. We were pretty busy, and then we went to zip.”
Her current location has a kitchen, a dining room and a thrift shop.
“The room is small enough that I can’t do social distancing,” she said, saying she’s now even selling dining room furniture in there to defer rent. “Catering took care of both of them. Once that was gone, we don’t have a payroll, but we’re facing crisis. It’s devastating.”
Because she and her helpers are all volunteers, they don’t qualify for federal programs such as the Payroll Protection Program that is largely helping keeping other area nonprofits alive.
Food donations are still rolling in, but the families are, too. Something Morgan’s always been able to rely on is hamburger from the Hand Family Farm Foundation, along with “we call one man the Saturday Saint, because he comes every Saturday with $100 worth of whatever meat was on sale.” She also can count on several area churches, who she said she is very grateful for.
People who need food walk into the thrift store and head to the back. They can come from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, once a week.
“Visiting a food bank should be a very casual thing,” Morgan said of the set up. “You take dignity from somebody, and they’ll never recover. If I don’t have anything to put out over that counter, I’ll be going and buying it.”
Morgan said “cash is nice,” but right now shoppers would do a lot of help. Our Father’s House is having a $5 brown bag sale, where everything you can fit into the bag is $5. Morgan will even show you how to roll the items up to “cram as much stuff in there as you can.”
Our Father’s House has been a place where people can turn if they’re not only down on their luck but also, say, if their house burned down.
“If you need clothes, bedding, if we’ve got it, well, we’ll give it to you,” she said. “Our Father’s House is everybody’s. It’s called Our Father’s House because my brothers and I could always go back to our father’s house for something to eat and a warm roof.”
Morgan said she’s uncertain what the future holds for Our Father’s House.
“Christ compelled me to do this, and I’m gonna ride it into the barn,” she said. “We’re here because Christ compelled us, and we have to be wise enough to know when the time to stop is.”
In other parts of the county, nonprofits like The Salvation Army and Combined Community Services (CCS) are doing OK, thanks to donations and qualifying for federal programs.
Tim Frame, director of emergency assistance at CCS, said 2020 was unprecedented when it came to the needs of people in the community.
“We’ve had record numbers at the food pantry for the number of families we’ve served,” Frame said.
Those numbers are up than in years past, with CCS setting a record number of serving more than 74 families in one day, he said. In 2020, CCS assisted 7,391 families, which is a slight increase from 2019 where they saw 7,100.
“And (2019) was our previous record-breaking year,” he said.
CCS has converted its food pantry into drive-thru style and suspended its clothing pantry. Food pantry hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and families must live in the county, provide their name, address, date of birth and the number of people in the family. Families are now able to come twice a month.
CCS also offers utilities assistance, and refers people who need that to contact REAL Services first to see if they qualify for the energy assistance program.
While CCS was affected because several of their annual fundraisers had to be cancelled, Frame said many people still donate and “with the protection programs in place, that’s something that has helped us stay afloat.”
Anyone who wants to donate to CCS can call 574-269-6019.
At The Salvation Army, Envoy Ken Locke said folks in need of food can come from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday once a month.
“We’ve seen about a 10% increase for requests for food since COVID started, and so that’s been pretty steady,” Locke said. “About 250 families a month come through.”
Locke said programs like the rental assistance program are being looked at to decide if they can reinstate those or not. Their work clothing program that helps people buy shoes or scrubs for upcoming employment has slowed down, he said.
On the bright side, Locke reported that the annual Red Kettle Christmas fundraiser went really well and he was surprised.
“We’ve had good support,” he said. “We just appreciate Kosciusko County. They’re a very giving community and they always help us so we can keep helping.”
Our Father’s House can be reached at 574-268-1800. The Salvation Army can be reached at 574-267-5361.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put her in a tough spot – the need for her volunteer work at the pantry is growing but the catering business she used to keep afloat has gone under.
“We established Our Father’s House to serve the needs of the poor,” Morgan said. “It’s a right, not a privilege, to eat.”
Morgan used to serve up hot meals she and other volunteers would cook at a dining room on Argonne Road years ago. They decided they’d fund it with a thrift shop, selling donated items at discounted rates. As that thrift shop started expanding and getting more furniture, the nonprofit moved to its current location at 2114 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw.
The catering business took off and she found herself being hired to cater annual events such as the Right To Life North Central Indiana banquet, that pulls in hundreds of people. Local companies would hire her to cater events and lunches.
Those gatherings aren’t happening anymore, thanks to the pandemic, which means that catering business she stood on to keep Our Father’s House serving the needs of the poor has fallen out from underneath her.
“COVID shut it down,” Morgan said. “We lost Christmas parties. We were pretty busy, and then we went to zip.”
Her current location has a kitchen, a dining room and a thrift shop.
“The room is small enough that I can’t do social distancing,” she said, saying she’s now even selling dining room furniture in there to defer rent. “Catering took care of both of them. Once that was gone, we don’t have a payroll, but we’re facing crisis. It’s devastating.”
Because she and her helpers are all volunteers, they don’t qualify for federal programs such as the Payroll Protection Program that is largely helping keeping other area nonprofits alive.
Food donations are still rolling in, but the families are, too. Something Morgan’s always been able to rely on is hamburger from the Hand Family Farm Foundation, along with “we call one man the Saturday Saint, because he comes every Saturday with $100 worth of whatever meat was on sale.” She also can count on several area churches, who she said she is very grateful for.
People who need food walk into the thrift store and head to the back. They can come from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, once a week.
“Visiting a food bank should be a very casual thing,” Morgan said of the set up. “You take dignity from somebody, and they’ll never recover. If I don’t have anything to put out over that counter, I’ll be going and buying it.”
Morgan said “cash is nice,” but right now shoppers would do a lot of help. Our Father’s House is having a $5 brown bag sale, where everything you can fit into the bag is $5. Morgan will even show you how to roll the items up to “cram as much stuff in there as you can.”
Our Father’s House has been a place where people can turn if they’re not only down on their luck but also, say, if their house burned down.
“If you need clothes, bedding, if we’ve got it, well, we’ll give it to you,” she said. “Our Father’s House is everybody’s. It’s called Our Father’s House because my brothers and I could always go back to our father’s house for something to eat and a warm roof.”
Morgan said she’s uncertain what the future holds for Our Father’s House.
“Christ compelled me to do this, and I’m gonna ride it into the barn,” she said. “We’re here because Christ compelled us, and we have to be wise enough to know when the time to stop is.”
In other parts of the county, nonprofits like The Salvation Army and Combined Community Services (CCS) are doing OK, thanks to donations and qualifying for federal programs.
Tim Frame, director of emergency assistance at CCS, said 2020 was unprecedented when it came to the needs of people in the community.
“We’ve had record numbers at the food pantry for the number of families we’ve served,” Frame said.
Those numbers are up than in years past, with CCS setting a record number of serving more than 74 families in one day, he said. In 2020, CCS assisted 7,391 families, which is a slight increase from 2019 where they saw 7,100.
“And (2019) was our previous record-breaking year,” he said.
CCS has converted its food pantry into drive-thru style and suspended its clothing pantry. Food pantry hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and families must live in the county, provide their name, address, date of birth and the number of people in the family. Families are now able to come twice a month.
CCS also offers utilities assistance, and refers people who need that to contact REAL Services first to see if they qualify for the energy assistance program.
While CCS was affected because several of their annual fundraisers had to be cancelled, Frame said many people still donate and “with the protection programs in place, that’s something that has helped us stay afloat.”
Anyone who wants to donate to CCS can call 574-269-6019.
At The Salvation Army, Envoy Ken Locke said folks in need of food can come from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday once a month.
“We’ve seen about a 10% increase for requests for food since COVID started, and so that’s been pretty steady,” Locke said. “About 250 families a month come through.”
Locke said programs like the rental assistance program are being looked at to decide if they can reinstate those or not. Their work clothing program that helps people buy shoes or scrubs for upcoming employment has slowed down, he said.
On the bright side, Locke reported that the annual Red Kettle Christmas fundraiser went really well and he was surprised.
“We’ve had good support,” he said. “We just appreciate Kosciusko County. They’re a very giving community and they always help us so we can keep helping.”
Our Father’s House can be reached at 574-268-1800. The Salvation Army can be reached at 574-267-5361.
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