Bare Shelves: Second Harvest Food Bank is hit with the worst crisis in its 28-year history

Last week for the first time in its 28-year history, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina ran out of food.

The shelves were nearly bare, and the food bank put out the word to its 400 partner agencies in 18 counties: "Don't bother to make the trip this week."

The crisis was a simple case of demand exceeding supply, said Clyde Fitzgerald, the food bank's executive director. By last Friday, the food bank had collected enough food to invite its partner agencies back this week.

But the problem being encountered by the food bank is bound to continue. Even though donations are up 15 percent this year, demand from the food bank's member agencies also is up -- by 76 percent. That is the highest percentage of increased requests among North Carolina's six Feeding America food banks. The others are averaging 50 percent increases in a period when the state and Northwest North Carolina are experiencing record unemployment rates.

"This is not the kind of thing where we say, ‘Gee, this is Tuesday, and the crisis is over,'" Fitzgerald said.

On Wednesday, the food bank received a $150,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. The money will be used to supply 300,000 pounds of food to emergency-assistance agencies in Forsyth County. In addition, this calendar year, the food bank is getting $2.4 million worth of food bought with federal economic-stimulus money and a federal farm bill approved last year, said Erin Foster, the marketing manager for the food bank.

Still, more crises could be ahead unless the supply of food coming into the food bank is permanently increased, Fitzgerald said. Even with the recent contributions, there will still be at least a 200,000-pound shortage of food in the county this year unless the food bank develops new sources of supply, he said.

The food bank does not give food to people who are hungry, but is a regional supplier that receives food from a variety of sources and distributes it to partner agencies. Food comes into the bank through community food drives, the national network of Feeding America, the Emergency Federal Assistance program, the state's nutrition-assistance program, and local grocery stores and reclamation centers.

Normally, partner agencies come to the Food Bank weekly and shop for what they need, Fitzgerald said. The amount of food the agencies take is determined by the number of clients they serve.

Tommy Cole, the director of Sunnyside Ministry of the Moravian Church, a food-bank client, said that his agency has scrambled all year to keep the shelves of its food pantry stocked. Sunnyside receives food from the food bank, he said, but he and his staff buy a fair amount of food as well.

The ministry spent $13,000 for food last year. This year, that budget has doubled and Cole said he is appealing to the churches that support the ministry for help.

In 2008, the ministry prepared grocery packs for an average of 650 people a month. In April, May and June of this year, the ministry prepared grocery packs for an average of 1,100 people a month.

Cole said that the requests for help are not coming from any one group, but that a lot of people are coming in toward the end of the month and saying they are out of food. He also said he is seeing a lot of new faces.

"People are just flat running out of money," he said.

A number of factors have come together to create the worst crisis in Second Harvest's history.

Each of the 18 counties that the food bank serves has more than 10 percent unemployment, Fitzgerald said, and some of the counties with the highest unemployment rates are in the food bank's service area.

Last year, partner agencies served about 150,000 people. So far this year, the agencies have served 250,000 people.

The impasse in getting a state budget approved has resulted in delays in some food supplies getting to the food bank, Fitzgerald said.

Last year, the state of North Carolina allotted $3.5 million to be shared among the state's six Feeding America food banks, with each receiving $583,000. All of that money had to be spent by mid-June, before the fiscal year ended.

The food bank is still waiting for this year's allocation, Fitzgerald said, and the agency has been told not to expect to be reimbursed for any food it buys this month. Even if a budget is approved by today, it will take another month for the money to reach the food banks.

The food bank has also been slow to receive supplies from Feeding America this month, Fitzgerald said, likely because of vacations and other summer distractions.

Food drives, which account for about 20 percent of the food bank's supplies, traditionally drop off in summer, Fitzgerald said. "You put all of that together and demand is skyrocketing, supply dwindles and we don't have any product," he said.

It will take well over a month for inventory levels to stabilize at close to needed levels. Fitzgerald said that only with continued community support will the food bank be able to keep shelves stocked.

"People respond when they believe a real problem exists," he said. "It's tough for a lot of people to believe hunger exists here."

Janice Campbell, the assistant executive director at A Storehouse for Jesus, a partner agency of the food bank, said she sees the need every day. Her agency operates a food ministry in Mocksville, and its $8,000 food budget for the year has been spent.

Seeing 30 families in one day is usually considered a busy day for her agency, Campbell said. This year, the ministry is seeing 55 families on a busy day.

The storehouse sees a lot of working people who have lost their houses or cars, she said, and who worry about paying for health insurance.

"We're seeing a lot of new people," she said. "Some of them have said they've never had to ask for help before, but both partners work at the same place and both got laid off."

■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at mgiunca@wsjournal.com.