News

Hunger on the rise

by Michele D.  Maniscalco
Thursday Dec 3, 2020

This article is from the December 3, 2020 issue of South End News.


Courtesy photo Greater Boston Food Bank
Courtesy photo Greater Boston Food Bank  

As the weather gets colder and the COVID-19 pandemic not only lingers, but is seeing a surge in new infections and illness, people across our country, state and city are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables.
According to the Greater Boston Food bank, Suffolk County has the highest rate of projected food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts with 16.7%, or one out of six people, expected to struggle with hunger in 2020.
South End organizations that offer food and shelter to the poor and homeless are also struggling to meet the increasing need as the holidays approach. The South End News reached out to Rosie's Place, the Pine Street Inn, and the Salvation Army to find out what they are doing to combat hunger in our backyard.
According to Michele Chausse, a spokesperson for Rosie's Place which offers food-pantry items to take away, on-site meals and snacks, and shelter to poor and homeless women, food need has surged as the pandemic drags on. Currently, the pantry at Rosie's Place distributes bags of groceries Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM-2:30 PM, and guests can receive two bags of groceries, or about a week's worth of food: a bag of perishables and a bag of non-perishables, once a week.
Chausse reports, "We are seeing twice the number of women [at our food-pantry program] since before COVID. We were seeing 100-120 per day. When our food pantry was outdoors in the parking lot, we were seeing 220-250 per day. Now we are seeing 250 women per day."
As the chilly weather set in, the food-pantry distribution program moved from Rosie's Place's parking lot to the Education Center at 887 Harrison Avenue. Rosie's Place also serves food in its dining room, offering meals, snacks and a warm place for homeless women to relax during the day. "The meal services we've been providing since the beginning of the coronavirus are still in place. We serve meals inside the dining room, lunch and a hot dinner for homeless women. Some take it to go."
Chausse said Rosie's had "a nice Thanksgiving dinner" for its homeless guests as well. Chausse said that Rosie's has been providing 200 meals per day, and added, "We anticipate seeing more homeless women per day as the winter months set in because so many women have lost jobs."
That children are not in school where they have access to free lunches also poses a hardship for Rosie's guests. "Women are faced with choices like am I buying groceries or paying for heat?" As it has since 1974, Rosie's Place continues to support women in their struggle out of homelessness and poverty despite the added challenges of the pandemic. " We're still providing a warm place, community, and food all day long."
The Salvation Army post at 1500 Washington Street operates a first-come, first-served outdoor food pantry on Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 10:00 AM and on Friday beginning at 2:30 PM until supplies are exhausted. Recipients line up at markers on the sidewalk to receive boxes of food, eggs or milk and a bag of frozen meat.
According to Major Kimberly Smith, between 100 and 250 are served per day. In accordance with COVID-19 restrictions, "We practice appropriate social distancing and masks wearing. We mark the sidewalk with chalk to remind clients and also have a plastic portable shield to protect volunteers. We move the line quickly and do our best to get people on their way quickly and safely. We do a small number of deliveries for homebound seniors as well," Smith explained.
Like Rosie's Place, the Salvation Army has seen demand for food support soar. The demand has increased greatly and has been increasing. Responding by email, Major Smith wrote, "We are serving a normal months' worth of food in one distribution. We have even been asked by local postal carriers and UPS/ FEDEX drivers to save a bag for them since they are struggling as well. So many who have never needed to make use of our services are finding themselves needing a little help. With parents staying home to support children doing online school work many families can no longer afford food and basic needs. We are meeting new families every day."
Smith said that many families come both for take-out prepared food, which is given out Monday-Friday, and for the Tuesday/Thursday/Friday pantry-item distribution. Smith observed that while more people have been showing up for food as the weather gets colder, she has seen people in shared hardship help each other. "We worry about our seniors waiting in cold weather for food. We don't like to have the lines in the cold, but we are also seeing this community come together. One day I was blessed to witness one client sharing a coat with someone she had met on line previously. We are continuing to help with coats and do our best to supply for clients' needs in any way we can. On several occasions we provided health care kits and one time, scarves, from a private donor."
The Salvation Army also provided a Turkey Day treat for its guests, giving out 600 Thanksgiving baskets on Saturday, November 21 and another 300 baskets and turkeys up until Wednesday, November 25, Thanksgiving Eve.
A challenge posed by the pandemic for both Rosie's Place and the Salvation Army is meeting so much more need without their normal corps of volunteers. According to its website, Rosie's Place has paused its volunteer program during the pandemic, and Smith reports that the Salvation Army is running its food programs with 2-3 regular volunteers aiding its small staff.
"We are committed to this community and our staff is mission minded. They live here and often come to work and bring to our attention a neighbor who needs help. It is harder to secure volunteers, but we are also very careful who we are allowing to assist at this time. We must protect our staff and the few volunteers we do have. Truthfully, we are blessed to see more volunteers than we can receive at this time. It tells you a lot about the heart of Bostonians!"
Neighbors who would like to give to these organizations may visit their web sites for details. See http://www.rosiesplace.org/news_and_events/newsroom/support, https://give.salvationarmy.org/give/173568/#!/donation/checkout, and https://www.pinestreetinn.org/get-involved/donate-items.