Stamp Out Hunger helps with ever-growing need

from the Clearfield Progress News

By Gae Kane
Some of the most profound solutions start with unconventional thinking. Thinking outside of the box can lead to doing the impossible. At least this is the position the National Letter Carriers Association has adopted. Then again, Americans have come to expect this kind of thinking from a group that devised innovative methods of delivering the mail despite snow, rain, heat, gloom of night and other hazards.

Working in a wholly different arena than usual, letter carriers throughout Clearfield Borough collected some 4,000 pounds of food during the recent Stamp Out Hunger food drive. Many rural carriers also found residents placed items in their mailboxes they intended for the food pantry. In some instances, cash donations were also left for the mail carriers.

The impact of the recent post office food drive is yet to be measured, but it will be significant for many.

During April, Central Pennsylvania Community Action Inc., which oversees some 10 food banks in Clearfield and Centre counties, reported that roughly 300 families in Clearfield Borough alone found themselves under the current poverty levels. The income sources for these families ranged from full-time employment to pension funds and investments. These working poor and retired residents represent only one segment of the borough population that is in serious need of help.

The highest causes of poverty within the borough range from fixed incomes to families that face health issues. Add in families that have no income or rely on public assistance, veterans benefits, unemployment compensation or disability benefits, and the number of families affected quickly rises to include another 726 families.

These families range in size from one-person households to households with nine people. In April, Clearfield Area School District reported 657 students fell under the poverty level, while still others qualified for reduced-cost lunch and breakfast programs.

As the demand for help rises, the Clearfield Ministerium Food Pantry is being forced to cut back on the amount of food given to families. This cutback is the direct result of higher fuel costs and commodity prices, which have cut private donations to the food pantries across the country and limit the amount of food they can purchase using their limited funding.

Robin Clark, the food pantry manager for both the Clearfield and Curwensville sites, indicated 410 families were served during April at the Clearfield Food Pantry. Ms. Clark added that during a one-week period in April, 47 families requested emergency food. She also stressed that many of the elderly live on only what they receive from the food pantry.

"People with incomes below the poverty threshold are in dire straits because not only are food prices increasing but the food stamps many are receiving have not increased," said Dr. John Cook, associate professor at Boston University's Medical School who has studied the effect that the food stamp program has on children.

Jean Daniel, a spokesperson for the U.S. Agriculture Department, which runs the food stamp program, recently indicated, "Food stamps were designed to supplement the food budget. They were never intended to be the entire budget." The food stamp program was designed to provide funds for a thrifty food plan - a barebones diet that meets minimal nutritional needs.

According to Dr. Cook, the current allotment falls short of reaching this goal.

Also in April, the state Department of Public Welfare indicated that 5,169 families in the county received food stamps. This represents some 13.5 percent of the total county population, or 11,332 people. The average value of the food stamp allocation in the county during April was $192, not enough to feed a family of four for a month.

The Clearfield Ministerium Food Pantry, which receives its annual funding in July, is only supposed to help 100 families and must budget funds over a 12-month period. The food stamp program, on the other hand, is adjusted each fall based on the federal food inflation rate. However, both of these sources are months away and even when relief comes it may not keep pace with rising costs, as the consumer price index for food rose 5 percent last year, the highest gain in the last 20 years.

These cost increases come at a time when most families are feeling a serious economic pinch. This may worsen when home heating oil costs come into play in the fall and winter. Current unemployment in Clearfield County, according to the Department of Public Welfare, is 6.2 percent. Statewide the unemployment rate is 5 percent, up from 4.3 percent last year at this time. Nationwide the rate was also 5 percent in April.