Greg Graham joined us for a Madison County pantry meeting this month. Greg is chairman of the Board of Public Works in Anderson. Greg has had a longtime interest in issues facing homeless and low-income residents of the area. He has had leadership roles in the Homeless Task Force and is the primary impetus behind the annual We Can Care food drive in Madison County.

When local pastor Paul Wohlford approached Greg recently with concern about empty shelves at area pantries, Greg took it seriously. He gave me call, and we invited him to join us as we talked with pantry representatives about the challenges they face. It was apparent that those around the table were feeling the weight of increased demand for their services while facing capacity issues.

Susie DeLong explained that the Salvation Army directed most of its funds toward providing rent and utility relief. Its need at the pantry level is for food with no costs attached. Joan Dietz from the pantry at East Lynn Christian Church acknowledged that money was an issue but so was the age of its volunteers. East Lynn provides one of the largest pantry distributions in our eight-county service area. They do an outstanding job but will not be able to carry on without the help of younger people in the community. Joan was thrilled to report that some of that help, both muscle and money, is coming from the church across the street, New Horizon United Methodist.

Greg shared an idea that Nara Manor, superintendent of Water Pollution Control, had presented to him. Why not encourage gardeners in the area to provide their extra produce to local pantries? The idea is a good one and would take minimal coordination. Gardeners could call 2-1-1 and ask the information officer how to connect with a pantry in their town. They could then arrange to take their extra vegetables to the pantry on the day it is open. This would give lots of fresh produce options to low-income clientele. There are some concerns though. Carol Alford with Chesterfield Community Food Pantry noted that they are not able to store produce. They could take only as much as they could give out on the day the pantry is open.

Steve Freeman and Pete McCoy from the Alexandria ERF food pantry agreed with Tim Kean representing St. John’s Lutheran pantry in Anderson that they are seeing a 30 percent increase in clients. ERF is fortunate to be supported by a couple dozen area churches. They provide money and volunteers for the program. ERF focuses strongly on the nutritional impact of the food they provide and lean heavily on purchased food. St. John’s Lutheran, on the other hand, uses the “Waste-Not, Want-Not” concept and provides only donated food to its clients. Both of these large pantries are at near capacity due to space, funds and volunteers.

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana plays a role in these programs. We are their food solicitation and cost of distribution fundraising arm. We search for and secure donated food from throughout the area, region and nation. We bring it to our central warehouse and make it available to more than a hundred charities in eight counties. Pantries and other organizations support a small percentage of the cost and we fund raise for the rest.

This week, the new census income and poverty numbers for 2007 will be released. I was on a Webinar with more than 1,000 other participants in preparation for this important release. The Coalition on Human Needs put this on to build a framework for what analysts anticipated the numbers to mean. You can find the data at www.census.gov by clicking on the “American FactFinder” link and going to the “American Community Survey” link.

The info put out by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities predicts that the 2007 figures may show for the first time on record that poverty may be worse at the end of a multi-year economic expansion than at the bottom of the previous recession. They tell us that 2007 in and of itself may look good but that sadly, it will not get any better.

Our pantries can attest to that without the Census Bureau’s report. Things were tight last year, and they haven’t loosened up yet in 2008. I am thankful for our local pantries. They do have their hands full. It is my hope that readers will continue to step up and help. It is a tremendous way to make a difference.

Remember to register for the ribbon-cutting and Dinner on the Dock on Sept. 17.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.