Food pantries, soup kitchens across county face another challenging year
NORWICH – Food pantries and soup kitchens throughout Chenango County face another challenging year ahead as threats for cuts in state and federal funding loom.
After last year’s devastating cut of more than $23,000 from the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), hopes of seeing that funding return have diminished, said United Way Director Elizabeth Monaco. The Chenango United Way - the EFSP allocation hub for 17 food pantries and soup kitchens in the county - says the county may not meet the guidelines set by the Federal Emergency Management Association for EFSP funding which looks at unemployment and poverty rates in the county to determine eligibility.
The slash in federal funding in 2012 was the first in over 30 years. Of the five surrounding counties, only Broome will receive EFSP funding for 2014 for its local food pantries. Once ineligible based on poverty and unemployment rates, the county remains ineligible until those numbers change, explained Monaco.
“We are also worried about state funding,” she added. “I hope that we will be able to secure some state set aside funds for next year, but that will all be determined by the state budget. We could receive as little as nothing if (the state) determines that other counties are more needing.”
In spite of last year’s federal funding cuts, the Chenango United Way was able to raise more than $28,000 in local contributions to allocate to food pantries all over the county - more money than was lost in federal funding, Monaco noted. However, $10,000 of that funding was received from the Community Foundation of South Central New York which was “generous and unsolicited, but it was a one-time contribution,” she said. “We can’t expect to see that donation again this year.”
The United Way is currently petitioning for federal and state funding. Moreover, the agency is gearing up for its 2014 support campaign season which officially gets underway in September. With a $456,000 goal in mind, hopes are to reinstate some lost funding to food pantries and soup kitchens next year, said Monaco.
Contrary to FEMA’s findings of lower unemployment and poverty rates, the Chenango County Roots and Wings food pantry is seeing its largest turnout ever. Numbers for 2013 have been consistently higher at Roots and Wings than 2012, making state and federal funding cuts all the more painful. The agency, a subsidiary of Catholic Charities of Chenango County, saw record setting numbers again in July, serving 613 households (approximately 2,450 individuals).
Said Roots and Wings Coordinator Melinda Mandeville, “Our numbers are increasing. We are seeing new families come in all the time ... With big funding cuts like this, we look to the community for help and I think that puts strain on people who are donating as well. People want to help but the question is, can they?”
Roots and Wings has received $4,810 in allocations for the food pantry this year, thanks largely to community donations and corporate donations from local industries including Unison and Norwich Pharmaceuticals. The nonprofit organization has an additional $7,000 in state set aside allocations from the United Way.
Looking ahead to 2014, Mandeville said she is still optimistic. “It’s always the community that pulls through for us.”
The Chenango United Way hopes to have a better update on food pantry funding when it nears the end of its 2014 campaign in December.
After last year’s devastating cut of more than $23,000 from the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), hopes of seeing that funding return have diminished, said United Way Director Elizabeth Monaco. The Chenango United Way - the EFSP allocation hub for 17 food pantries and soup kitchens in the county - says the county may not meet the guidelines set by the Federal Emergency Management Association for EFSP funding which looks at unemployment and poverty rates in the county to determine eligibility.
The slash in federal funding in 2012 was the first in over 30 years. Of the five surrounding counties, only Broome will receive EFSP funding for 2014 for its local food pantries. Once ineligible based on poverty and unemployment rates, the county remains ineligible until those numbers change, explained Monaco.
“We are also worried about state funding,” she added. “I hope that we will be able to secure some state set aside funds for next year, but that will all be determined by the state budget. We could receive as little as nothing if (the state) determines that other counties are more needing.”
In spite of last year’s federal funding cuts, the Chenango United Way was able to raise more than $28,000 in local contributions to allocate to food pantries all over the county - more money than was lost in federal funding, Monaco noted. However, $10,000 of that funding was received from the Community Foundation of South Central New York which was “generous and unsolicited, but it was a one-time contribution,” she said. “We can’t expect to see that donation again this year.”
The United Way is currently petitioning for federal and state funding. Moreover, the agency is gearing up for its 2014 support campaign season which officially gets underway in September. With a $456,000 goal in mind, hopes are to reinstate some lost funding to food pantries and soup kitchens next year, said Monaco.
Contrary to FEMA’s findings of lower unemployment and poverty rates, the Chenango County Roots and Wings food pantry is seeing its largest turnout ever. Numbers for 2013 have been consistently higher at Roots and Wings than 2012, making state and federal funding cuts all the more painful. The agency, a subsidiary of Catholic Charities of Chenango County, saw record setting numbers again in July, serving 613 households (approximately 2,450 individuals).
Said Roots and Wings Coordinator Melinda Mandeville, “Our numbers are increasing. We are seeing new families come in all the time ... With big funding cuts like this, we look to the community for help and I think that puts strain on people who are donating as well. People want to help but the question is, can they?”
Roots and Wings has received $4,810 in allocations for the food pantry this year, thanks largely to community donations and corporate donations from local industries including Unison and Norwich Pharmaceuticals. The nonprofit organization has an additional $7,000 in state set aside allocations from the United Way.
Looking ahead to 2014, Mandeville said she is still optimistic. “It’s always the community that pulls through for us.”
The Chenango United Way hopes to have a better update on food pantry funding when it nears the end of its 2014 campaign in December.
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