Wanted: Younger hands to help fight Pierce County hunger during (and after) pandemic

Hunger in Pierce County was a problem before the coronavirus pandemic struck. Now? Let’s just say a sinking economy coupled with rising unemployment spell ongoing trouble for local food banks.

It’s why more than 800 Washington National Guard members were deployed in April to help contend with the massive demand on food pantries. It was the largest Guard activation since Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago.

Since Gov. Jay Inslee issued stay-home orders in March, traffic at food banks has nearly tripled. According to Christina Wong, the public policy director at Northwest Harvest, food banks visits went from 800,000 Washingtonians to 1.6 million people.

Thankfully, the men and women of the National Guard have made it possible for millions of Washingtonians to get food. But by June 24, most of their orders will expire — one day shy of many members becoming eligible for key federal benefits for education and retirement.

The White House is calling it a “hard stop.” We’re calling it a potential disaster. Food banks in Washington are set to lose most of their workforce.

So, teens and young adults, we’re looking at you. You have the health and, with school wrapping up for the year or stuck in remote-learning limbo, many of you have the time — not to mention the need for community-service opportunities.

We’ll skip the TED Talk and get to the point: Your willingness to work at a food distribution center or food pantry would make a huge difference to thousands of families experiencing food insecurity.

Sue Potter is the chief executive officer for Nourish Pierce County, one of the largest local food distributors. She said the 54 Guard members working at Nourish have made it possible to feed almost 12,000 residents each week.

Potter says Nourish’s nine food pantries will need 200 to 300 volunteers by the end of June to sustain current operations.

Typically, over 75 percent of volunteers are 65 years and older. But under warnings from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and orders from Inslee, they’re instructed to stay home and stay safe during the coronavirus shutdown.

Luckily, local grocery stores and area farms are still providing high-quality foods, though supply can be inconsistent.

Kevin Glackin-Coley, director of St. Leo’s Food Connection, told a member of the Editorial Board: “Some weeks we have plenty of milk and eggs; some weeks we don’t.”

How long this steady stream of food supply will last is unknown. Our crystal ball is in the shop, but as with most things COVID-related, food supply depends on a lot of moving parts.

Congress took several smart anti-hunger steps in March, including a temporary suspension of certain program requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It also authorized the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, giving kids who receive free or reduced school lunches access to more food outside school.

These two moves help people keep shopping in stores, but they also have end dates, and when they expire, things could go sour fast. People will have to utilize food banks as their safety nets.

The looming question is: Who will be there to assist them? We hope the answer is “all of us,” or at least most of us.

According to a Brookings Institution study, food insecurity in households with children under 18 has increased about 130 percent since COVID hit; and like health and education disparities, hunger disproportionately impacts people of color and other historically marginalized communities.

Michelle Douglas, Emergency Food Network chief executive officer, says the nonprofit has already spent its $250,000 budget for 2020. Why? Because in April, it distributed one million more pounds of food than usual, and getting it to hungry families has become increasingly labor intensive.

Gone are the days when folks could “shop” food pantries for needed items. Now all food is carefully handled and safely boxed in advance for distribution. If not an army, then at least a platoon of volunteers will be needed at various sites.

If the myriad of problems caused by COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that solutions require large-scale cooperation. Whether it’s “flattening the curve” or fighting hunger, we have to do it together.

TO HELP

Emergency Food Network: efoodnet.org

Nourish Pierce County: nourishpc.org

St. Leo’s Food Connection: foodconnection.org

This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 12:00 PM.