Agencies struggle to meet needs

By Andrew Griffin, contributor
The Sun

May 09, 2008 11:42 am

— It’s a normal weekday afternoon at the Mid-Del Food Pantry on Midwest Boulevard, and George and Agnes O’Gwynn, directors of the pantry, are in their small front office.
“More and more people are making repeat visits,” said Agnes, looking concerned. “Food stamps simply do not last long.”
It’s a little slower than usual in the office and storage area, they said, because it’s the first of the month and many of their clients have been paid. Still, with rising food, gas and prescription drug costs, balancing a budget with a small paycheck that can only go so far is difficult, particularly if you’re a single mother with mouths to feed.
In fact, to illustrate this, Agnes shares a story about a woman who pushed an empty baby buggy six miles through town all the way to the food pantry in hopes of filling the buggy with food to take home.
“Single mothers are barely making it,” George said.
Gas prices are having an impact as well.
One person who came to the pantry ran out of gas in the pantry parking lot and didn’t have money to buy any gas, Agnes said. The O’Gwynns helped the person by giving them a little money to buy gas.
“We normally don’t do that,” George said.
“I do the shopping for the pantry,” Agnes said. “And it’s unbelievable. Everything is going up.”
Crest Foods is where Agnes normally shops and she said the grocery store always has been good about giving the pantry day-old bread or lunch meat near its expiration date.
Pointing to a row of cereal boxes in the food storage area, George and Agnes note that damaged boxes of cereal — containing perfectly safe contents — often are given to the pantry since shoppers normally won’t buy them. The pantry gladly accepts them.
Set up in 1984 to help people who needed food, the Mid-Del Food Pantry answered a need in the area.
George, who has been the director of the Mid-Del Food Pantry since 1991, said in that time they have never run out of food. In fact, their shelves are brimming with items.
“The one thing about the pantry is that everybody here volunteers,” George said. “That helps us put more money into buying food for our clients.”
Most of the people coming through the door, seeking everything from cereal to eggs to meat and peanut butter, are referred to the pantry by the Department of Human Services or are simply “walk-ins,” Agnes said.
In neighboring Oklahoma City, the Salvation Army has been witnessing a sharp rise in the number of people seeking assistance.
Antoinette Hysmith-Sanders, executive director of Social Services for the Oklahoma City Metro Area Command of the Salvation Army, said regular clients are being joined by folks who recently would’ve been part of the middle class and are now facing the nightmare of not having money for food.
And now, the Salvation Army is looking for additional financial support to help them get through the tough times ahead — tough times that are affecting increasing numbers of Oklahomans.
In March, the Salvation Army assisted 5,153 people. That number shot up to 5,783 in April.
“Our food (stocks) have not been lasting more than three or four days,” Hysmith-Sanders said.
“We’ve spent $11,000 more on food this year over last year already. We need a new influx of support.”
Hysmith-Sanders said that “this is a scenario that may not let up” and that “the price of the basics, like milk and eggs, has skyrocketed and many people cannot pay for both the high price of gas and the rising costs of food.”

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