COVID-19 has left many in Bradenton struggling for food. Is there enough help for them?
It’s a misconception to think that only the homeless rely on local food pantries to survive.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 11.3% of Manatee County residents work and live at or below the poverty level, meaning more than 45,000 residents struggle to make ends meet just from a statistical standpoint. Living just above the poverty level isn’t exactly a picnic, either, and thousands more local families face difficult financial decisions daily.
Many have turned to local food pantries for the first time amid the coronavirus pandemic to make those choices somewhat easier.
The need since March, when the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in Manatee County, has spiked dramatically. Local food banks raise some of their own donations but rely on the area’s two major food operations to purchase fresh food for pennies on the dollar to keep up with the demand from those they serve.
Manatee Meals on Wheels PLUS has seen a 62% increase in its home delivery program to the elderly and disabled, while demand at its food bank has spiked by more than 50% since the start of the pandemic.
The nonprofit started a Food4Families program with part of the COVID-19 emergency relief funding it received through the federal CARES Act. That program alone has served more than 750,000 meals, according to Amy Towery, vice president of development.
But as Congress continues to stall on a new round of COVID relief, nonprofit agencies that lend a major hand in feeding local residents are facing hardships of their own. It’s a dilemma that will undoubtedly trickle down to every resident who is financially struggling and to every local food pantry trying to keep pace.
Community help is more important than ever to keep local families fed during a crisis that isn’t going to end when vaccines become available. It’s going to be a recovery problem for the foreseeable future.
“As an independent food bank, we are grateful for the outpouring of support from our community so we can provide the basic need of food here locally in Manatee County,” said Maribeth Phillips, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels PLUS. “We anticipate there is a long runway ahead of us for recovery, and that long after a vaccine is available, we will continue to feel the impacts of COVID-19 related to food insecurity.”
Phillips said donations to the Manatee Food Bank and Meals on Wheels PLUS stay in Manatee County, “to serve those in need.”
It’s a similar scenario for Feeding Tampa Bay, which also serves many of the food pantries in Manatee County, as well as other counties in the Tampa Bay region.
“Overall, our numbers mirror what other food banks have seen, an ongoing increase in need of 40 to 50%,” said Thomas Mantz, president and CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay, which is part of Feeding America.
Mantz said like other nonprofits serving those in need, there is a concern about their short-term ability to keep up with the demand, as well as the long-term financial recovery for so many local families. Especially those, he said, who work in the leisure, tourism and restaurant communities hit hardest by the pandemic.
“Until these industries recover, our neighbors will continue to struggle,” Mantz said. “If additional federal relief is not forthcoming, families and individuals who are using the extended benefits from CARES will have greater need, placing more pressure on an already taxed social service system.”
The trickle-down effect
Agencies can cite numbers all day long, but if you’ve waited hours in line at any one of the local food pantries, you already know the struggle is real.
“I started coming here because I needed food,” said Lee Ann Acol, who found herself on disability after brain surgery.
Acol was in line Wednesday morning at the Fifty Third Avenue Church of Christ. It’s a congregation that has gone from feeding 40 or 50 people every week to serving more than 1,000.
About 1,200 people received food on Wednesday at the church, “and we keep growing,” said James Schilling, a deacon at the church and food bank manager.
Schilling said it’s been an up-and-down ride since the pandemic began.
“Right now we have an ample amount of food,” he said. “Three weeks ago, that wasn’t the case and I can’t say what it will look like three weeks from now.”
The church buys fresh food from Feeding Tampa Bay and the Manatee Food Bank. With donations from church members and about $5,000 in CARES Act funding, it also has been able to buy canned goods for distribution.
“But we need money to keep it going,” he said. “We need volunteers and we need food donations. We see homeless people, people struggling with addiction and those who have lost their jobs. We’ll continue to serve them the best we can.”
Schilling said the church keeps track of the food bank’s recipients. There has been about a 30% increase in people coming to the pantry for the first time.
“One of the things that always moves me is when someone rolls down their window in tears and says that without us, they wouldn’t be able to eat that day,” Schilling said. “If that doesn’t change you, I don’t know what does.”
And it’s about paying it forward for Acol, who has relied on the church since becoming disabled. She now picks up food for herself, as well as for others unable to drive to the church. With little income herself, the Ellenton resident relies donations of gas money to make the deliveries.
It’s a giving circle of sorts, and, “It’s important to pay it forward,” she said.
The Fifty Third Avenue Church of Christ, is located at 3412 53rd Ave. E.
Waiting for Congress
While politicians play politics in the nation’s capital with additional COVID relief funds, people are hurting.
“We have heard from so many people that they have never needed help from organizations like ours, and now due to the pandemic, they need food to feed their families,” Towery said. “So many people have been impacted in so many different ways. Another round of relief will provide assistance desperately needed for individuals impacted by COVID.”
Mantz said the CARES Act provided three important mechanisms that were critical to support local communities. The stimulus checks, unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions helped many to get by for awhile, but all of that has either run out or is about to.
Accessing CARES dollars for organizations like Feeding Tampa Bay allowed the, “funding to respond to the crisis, allowing us to offer more support,” Mantz said, which equated to about 15 million additional pounds of food.
“All of these interventions will cease on Dec. 30,” he said. “The loss of this support introduces a much greater risk of household failure, no matter how much charity there is. In a time of crisis the magnitude of COVID, no charity can answer alone. We need the support of all resources to ensure our communities survive.”
Looking ahead
Christmas is fast approaching and holiday demands are already typically higher than normal. While there are grave concerns about long-term shortages, agencies and food pantries expect to be able to meet the short-term holiday needs.
The Manatee Food Bank’s holiday distribution will be 4-6 p.m. Monday at 1816 Ninth St. W. in Bradenton. Those holiday packages will include hams with all the sides. Towery said the food bank fed 500 families for Thanksgiving and expects that number to be higher for Christmas.
“So we are increasing our distribution to 850 families for the upcoming holidays,” Towery said.
Feeding Tampa Bay has increased meals from one million to two million a week, but expects to meet the holiday demand.
“We can and will continue our pace of delivery through the holiday season,” Mantz said.
After the holidays and into 2021 is another matter.
“Maintaining this level of service is a concern,” Towery said. “Our past emergency relief efforts have centered around the impacts of hurricanes and typically last only a few weeks. We are preparing for our 40th week of direct distribution to the community. We know the community needs us to keep doing what we are doing and we are committed to continuing this work as long as we have the community support of food and funds.”
Gifts in support of their mission can be made online at MealsOnWheelsPLUS.org or mailed to 811 23rd Ave. East, Bradenton, FL 34208. Thanks to a generous matching gift from an anonymous donor, gifts of up to $30,000, will be matched dollar-for-dollar if postmarked by Dec. 31.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 1:16 PM.