Alabama has not escaped the financial hardships of 2008, but an increase in demand at Alabama food ministry locations has been coupled with an increase in donations of food items at many sites this year.
“The need has increased tremendously,” said Jackie Howle, executive director of HEARTS (Helping Every Area Resident to Succeed), a faith-based family resource center in Cleburne County in northeast Alabama. “Twice as many people as last year have requested help this year.”
Jacqueline Barnes, development and communications director for the Bay Area Food Bank in Theodore, which serves nine south Alabama counties as well as counties in Florida and Mississippi, said food pantries in her region have reported a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in requests for food this year compared to last year.
The Baptist Center in the Stansel community, a ministry of Pickens Baptist Association in west Alabama, has also seen an increase in clients in the last few months, said Coordinator Jean Richardson, a member of Friendship Baptist Church, Reform.
And in Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city, the United Way Community Food Bank has received larger orders than usual from partner agencies that provide food assistance in its 13-county area, according to Executive Director Larry Logan.
“The need has just escalated,” Logan said. “A lot of people who were donating at this time last year are now seeking assistance.”
Though not as hard hit in some ways as other states, Alabama has seen increases in many areas that indicate the declining economy is having an impact. Property foreclosures in the state were up 15 percent in October, according to RealtyTrac.com, an online company that tracks national foreclosure data.
“We see lots of people who can’t afford rent and have lost their homes,” Howle said. “Many family members are moving in with other family members, so when they come to us, we are preparing food for as many as nine or 10 people.”
Mark Peacock, men’s lodge manager at the Dothan Rescue Mission, said he and other volunteers serve 50–90 meals each day to clients, many of whom are homeless and many who are not.
“We have some folks who can afford a roof but they can’t afford groceries,” he said. “And it’s a broad range — male, female, young and old.”
While gas prices have fallen in recent weeks, the higher costs of utilities, medicine and food have stretched many budgets, Logan said, adding that a lot of people who are working use the United Way food bank.
Since most food ministries depend on local food drives to stock their shelves, volunteers say they expected donations from church and community members to decrease this year. That has not been the case.
“We haven’t noticed a drop in donations, and in fact, donations, including food, have picked up in recent weeks,” Richardson said.
Howle has seen that trend as well. HEARTS recent food drive brought in more items than last year’s drive, and churches have stepped up efforts to help. “If not for our churches, we wouldn’t have made it,” Howle said.
Though there’s also been an increase in the number of Alabama families receiving assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the federal Food Stamp Program — almost 20,000 more households in August 2008 than in August 2007 — the economy is only part of the reason.
Barry Spear, public information officer for the Alabama Department of Human Resources, said some of this increase can be attributed to the economy and some to the efforts of the department to increase the participation rate of individuals and families who qualify for food assistance but have not applied.
“The food assistance program is meant to supplement the family’s food needs, so the effort to increase participation has been aimed particularly toward elderly individuals and working families who were already eligible,” Spear said.
Kris Connell, director of The Caring Center at Brent Baptist Church in Bibb Baptist Association, said she expected the state of the economy would lead to more requests for assistance but has not seen that yet.
“What we’re seeing is a continuous need — it’s not just the economy,” she said.
That continuous need is what drives volunteers like Susie Adams. Adams, coordinator of the food pantry and clothes closet at First Baptist Church, Tanner, in Limestone Baptist Association, said her mission, like that of so many other Alabama Baptists, is simply to meet the needs of those who need help — physically and spiritually. She said food becomes the starting point for building a relationship.
“Maybe in one of those macaroni-and-cheese boxes comes the opportunity to share the love of Christ,” Adams said. “You can’t listen to the gospel if you’re starving, and our prayer is that if we provide that help and food, God will reveal Himself to that family.”
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