HACAP reports shortage in food pantry donations

    The Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) is experiencing a shortage in its food pantries. Barb Elsasser, the food reservoir program manager who works in Hiawatha, said the shortage is occurring in its food pantries in all seven of the counties it serves. She said the scarcity of food is due to increased demand.

    ?The numbers reported to us show that there has been a 20 percent increase in demand since the beginning of the year,? said Elsasser. ?We anticipate that the need will rise even more because the winter and holidays are approaching. The winter means higher heating bills. And like every family, our families want to do things for their loved ones during the holidays.?

    Elsasser said the increase in demand at the onset of winter is a common phenomenon that occurs yearly.

    ?What doesn?t happen yearly is a 20 percent increase in demand,? she said.

    She speculated that there are more people in need because of the high unemployment figures and the state of the economy. She said the saving grace about the approaching holiday season is that it is the time of year when people think of donating to food pantries.

    ?The need is there all the time, but this is the time people give,? she said. ?We hope donations go up to meet the demand.?

    Washington County HACAP Operations Manager RenElla Crawford said her office receives 60-90 boxes of food from the Hiawatha food reservoir every two weeks. Each box is made to provide three days of food for a family of three. Crawford said the boxes have been in short supply recently because more people are coming through her doors.

    ?We?re seeing a lot of families we haven?t seen before, and the families who routinely come in for food are coming in more often,? said Crawford.

For more, see our Oct. 13 print edition.