Help needed to fill food pantry - The Wilson Times (subscription)

By Olivia Neeley

Times Staff Writer

The pantry shelves are bare.

Sections marked for vegetables, canned meats, pasta, rice, peanut butter and beans are empty. Other shelves are scantily filled with soup, cereal and boxed skillet dinners.

“We can’t keep up with the demand,” said Maj. Cindy Capps, Salvation Army of Wilson’s social worker. “We have no vegetables or canned meats.”

The Salvation Army provides food assistance to families three days a week. Officials say they are seeing between 30 and 35 families each of those days. And they aren’t the same families.

“They’re only eligible to get food every 90 days,” Capps said, which indicates those they are assisting are all different families.

Capps said the increase over the summer months has been overwhelming.

“The need is high,” she said. “This whole summer it’s been a constant battle keeping food on our shelves.”

Capps said they were blessed with monetary donations from the community that allowed the Army to fill its pantry shelves until the end of August. But since the beginning of September, it’s been difficult.

“We aren’t able to go out and purchase food at this time,” she said. “We are at a financial crunch right now.”

While families are struggling to survive, the Salvation Army is struggling to keep its pantry shelves stocked.

They do receive donated items from Food Lion and Target each week.

UPTICK IN CASES

The Salvation Army has seen an uptick in the number of families and elderly they are assisting with food. From June through mid-September of this year, they’ve had 718 cases which equals to 1,876 different individuals, organization officials said.

For that same time period last year, they had 532 cases, which equaled 1,300 individuals.

“We’ve had a lot of clients come in for assistance,” Capps said.

The 90-day eligibility period doesn’t count the month those families and elderly come in for assistance. That’s why the figures pulled included September.

The majority of clients are elderly and working families, Capps said.

She said while households have income, they have low-wage jobs. And by the time they pay rent and utilities, there is nothing left.

“It’s not that they aren’t working,” she said. “It’s just the cost of food is not cheap to be able to provide for families.”

And the elderly struggle to survive because they don’t have enough money to eat each month.

Capps said they’ve also had quite a few families who have lost their jobs and moved into the Wilson area recently.

HELPING IN A TIME OF NEED

The Salvation Army is in desperate need of non-perishable food items for their clients, including tomato sauce, pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables and canned meats.

“There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing eyes of children who are hungry because we have no food to give them,” Capps said.

“We are really hoping to feed these families and help them during their time of need.”

The Salvation Army is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

olivia@wilsontimes.com | 265-7879