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SERVE struggles in tough economy
As the price of gas and food go up, it's no secret that it's getting harder to make ends meet. And some families find it harder than others.On Monday, Prince William Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) was at the SERVE shelter in Manassas to highlight the growing problem of hunger in America.
SERVE is western Prince William's food pantry and shelter for families and the facility has seen a 35 percent increase in the number of families seeking food in the last year.
Last month, 800 families signed up for grocery assistance, said Cheri Villa, CEO of SERVE.
And it's getting harder and harder to feed them all.
“The food pantries are hurting,” Wolf said. “They need more food. They need more money. They need people to write checks.”
SERVE's food pantry looks more like a grocery store than anything else. As Wolf and his entourage passed through aisles filled with cereal, produce and soft drinks, SERVE workers explained the system.
“We work with restaurants, grocery stores and church groups,” said Cindy Provenzano, SERVE's director of social services.
In addition, local farmers sometimes donate fresh meat and Hunters for the Hungry gives about 50,000 pounds of meat each year.
But an average of 750 families each month now get a week's worth of food from the pantry. That's “a huge spike” in the number of people being helped, Provenzano said.
SERVE volunteers pack up grocery bags for each family, and while it is the volunteers who decide what goes into the bags, families can make requests.
“Every once in a while, we get people who ask for something specific,” said Susie Schurtz, explaining that sometimes a family will ask for cooking oil or baby formula or diapers. There are cultural differences in grocery shopping, as well, so the volunteers try to tailor each bag to the family receiving it.
“We even have pet food,” Schurtz said, adding that a local man goes around to grocery stores, picking up broken bags of dog food and donating them to SERVE.
In fact, area grocery stores are key contributors all around. Wegman's recently donated 500,000 grocery bags and 14,000 pounds of food.
“I think they're going to be really great. Very community oriented,” Schurtz said.
Giant has also been a key partner, but some other chains have been hesitant to help out.
Thomas M. Culligan, Wolf's legislative assistant, said some chains don't trust local managers to properly identify food that can be safely donated to local charities. The concern, he said, is that if food donated past its prime makes someone sick, the grocery store could be sued.
So instead, some chains require all unused food to be shipped back to headquarters. It's often distributed to charities, but to charities near the national headquarters, not charities near each individual grocery store.
Culligan said Wolf's office is trying to get the word out that the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects companies that donate food to charity.
“Once they donate it, federal law protects them so they have no liability,” Culligan said.
Wolf later echoed that assurance, saying he's been working to educate companies about the law.
“We have written each grocery chain in Northern Virginia to encourage them to donate food, not to ship it back to headquarters,” he said.
But what food pantries really need, Wolf said, is for churches, community groups and individuals to step up their support.
“The food pantries in our area are strained,” he said, calling the growing problem a “food crisis” that will continue to worsen. “This is a critical time,” he said.
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