At least once a day, sometimes multiple times a day, Jennifer Gerrard gives out emergency food bags.
The bags aren”t filled with the most nutritious foods: a pack of cheese and crackers, pop tarts, peanut butter, apple sauce, a juice box, raisins, fruit gummy snacks, a fruit cereal bar, two cans of Vienna sausage, a can of potted meat, a sleeve of saltine crackers, a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli or beefaroni and bottled water.
A hand sanitizer wipe, forks, spoons, napkins and flavored-water packets complete the package. It”s enough to get someone through the day. And for those who have nothing to eat, they”re grateful for it. Everything canned has a pop-top, so it can be eaten right from the can.
“They can go outside and eat it on the curb” if they have nowhere else to go, Gerrard said. And they often do.
Some she never sees again; others return regularly.
“They know they can at least get something to eat,” said Gerrard, project coordinator for Community Resource Connection.
While the CRC gives out the food bags to anyone who needs them and offers various other items — toothbrushes and tooth paste, new socks and underwear, soap and lotion — its main mission is to refer homeless people to agencies that can help them get back on their feet.
For those who need continuous help feeding themselves and their families, she refers them to Helping Hands, the Salvation Army and the First Assembly of God Care Center. She also tells them about the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen. Loaves and Fishes feeds about 1,200 people a month, opening every Monday and Friday and the third Thursday of the month, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., no questions asked. People just fall into line at the red door on the north end of 223 22nd Street, the old Cash Distributing building, and take a seat, to get a hot meal. Some sit and chat; others stay long enough to finish their meal and head out.
“Our ultimate goal is to have our own building and to serve every day of the week,” said Frances Johnson, a volunteer with Central United Methodist Church. Several local congregations and other groups share in the responsibilities of buying, preparing and serving food at the soup kitchen. Loaves and Fishes rents a space in the building, which it shares with Helping Hands and other agencies.
Loaves and Fishes started nearly three years ago. After three weeks of trial runs, organizers knew there was a need for a local soup kitchen. Now, averaging more than 200 people at each meal, they know there is a need for more partners, so they can serve seven days a week.
And it”s not just the homeless reaching out for help to put food on the table.
In 2009, across America, 17.4 million households — nearly 15 percent of the country — weren”t sure where their next meal would come from. The worst states, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are Arkansas (17.7 percent), Mississippi (17.1 percent) Texas (17.4 percent) and Georgia (15.6 percent). Alabama is close behind with 15 percent food insecure, meaning they don”t have and can”t buy enough food for all household members to lead an active healthy life.
Columbus” Helping Hands food pantry had given food to 1,743 families, from January through the end of November.
“This year what we”ve noticed is we”re seeing a lot more families having to ask for food, who”ve never had to ask for food,” said Nancy Guerry, director of Helping Hands.
Families still are coping with recession and job loss, she said.
“These are people who really are not just having a one-time emergency but are struggling to get by every single month,” Guerry continued.
They are making choices between buying food and putting gas in their car to get back and forth to work.
In its 2010 Hunger in America study, Feeding America estimates more than one in three of its emergency-food recipients make choices between an everyday necessity and enough food.
Feeding America is a network of more than 200 food banks, providing food to about 37 million Americans annually.
Helping Hands also gives food regularly to several senior citizens, some of whom have run out of food money provided through the United States Department of Agriculture”s supplemental nutrition assistance program. The program, which is managed through the Department of Human Services, previously was called the food stamp program. Now, clients receive a stipend on a state-issued debit card. There are more than 40 million people enrolled in the program, nationwide.
“They do not get very much (money for) food if they are an individual,” she noted.
Those who ask for help from the food pantry, usually get beans, corn, a meat product, muffin mix, rice, dry beans and other non-perishable items.
“A box of rice or package of noodles, that can go pretty far, if you need to stretch it into multiple meals,” Guerry said.
Another option, for those who are pregnant or have children age 5 and under, is the Women, Infant and Children program, managed through local health departments.
WIC provides infant formula and baby food for babies and juice, fresh fruit and vegetables, cereal and milk for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children up to age 5.
But sometimes people, even those who are homeless, don”t ask for help, said Gerrard. They survive however they can.
Popeyes, she”s been told, is a favorite among the homeless population in Columbus, because they bag their foods separately — biscuits in one bag, chicken in another — before they throw it out.
And for people thinking about charitable giving this holiday season, Gerrard stresses, “People are homeless all year round, not just the holidays. Food pantries need food all year round.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 38 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.