Pantries' needs growing

Wednesday's editorial draws attention to the plight of area food pantries as volunteers struggle to keep food on their shelves.

Adrian Weatherwax would like to see a "Christmas in Summer" approach to collecting canned goods for area food pantries. Her thought is that if a retail store, for example, had a Yuletide tree in the middle of summer, shoppers would feel a need to check it out and perhaps help area food pantries meet the growing summer challenge of having basic foods.

Weatherwax is executive director of Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach, where "our pantry shelves are pretty close to bare." She says the pantry needs everything but green beans.

Weatherwax speaks like her counterparts at other food pantries (North Strand Helping Hand in Longs, Churches Assisting People in Conway, South Strand Helping Hand in Surfside Beach) about the annual summer shortages at food pantries that are more critical this year as more people turn to the pantries.

Kids are out of school and requiring three meals a day at home, supplies from holiday food drives are long since distributed, and many regular donors are on vacation.

All of the pantry directors report that they are seeing new clients - folks who perhaps for the first time in their lives turn to an agency such as Helping Hand for food.

The numbers alone are startling. In June alone, Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach provided food for 179 new heads of households. The pantry provided food for 770 families, up from 635 families in June 2008.

"Food kind of passes through," Weatherwax says. "No canned goods are collecting dust on our shelves."

"There is nothing that we don't need - we start over every week," says Gail Steinfield, executive director of Churches Assisting People in Conway. CAP serves a big chunk of Horry County from the Intracoastal Waterway at S.C. 544 to the Marion County line.

The pantry is always in need of basics, including pasta, sauce for pasta and canned goods.

Steinfield says CAP is feeding at least one-third more families. It is common to help 50 to 100 families a day (71 families on Monday). In the first six months of this year, CAP has provided 122,000 meals, compared with 150,000 in all of last year.

"The need is much, much greater," Steinfield says.

Ilo Jeane Hoffman, director of South Strand Helping Hand, works with about 20 churches, phoning them weekly to report particular needs - this week it's beef stew and canned fruit. "We certainly could use a food drive," Hoffman says.

In June, North Strand Helping Hand fed a total of 1,531 people, including 830 at the center on Long Bay Road off S.C. 90 and distributions in Atlantic Beach and to homebound seniors.

Margaret Owens, executive director, says North Strand needs protein sources such as pork and beans and canned meats (tuna and chicken).

Dozens of churches across the area constantly collect food for the pantries. As the need increases, the churches could use some help.

Neighborhood groups, service clubs, day camps and summer Bible schools are all possible organizers for summer food drives to help area pantries feed growing numbers of people.

Weatherwax is executive director of Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach, where "our pantry shelves are pretty close to bare." She says the pantry needs everything but green beans.

Weatherwax speaks like her counterparts at other food pantries (North Strand Helping Hand in Longs, Churches Assisting People in Conway, South Strand Helping Hand in Surfside Beach) about the annual summer shortages at food pantries that are more critical this year as more people turn to the pantries.

Kids are out of school and requiring three meals a day at home, supplies from holiday food drives are long since distributed, and many regular donors are on vacation.

All of the pantry directors report that they are seeing new clients - folks who perhaps for the first time in their lives turn to an agency such as Helping Hand for food.

The numbers alone are startling. In June alone, Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach provided food for 179 new heads of households. The pantry provided food for 770 families, up from 635 families in June 2008.

"Food kind of passes through," Weatherwax says. "No canned goods are collecting dust on our shelves."

"There is nothing that we don't need - we start over every week," says Gail Steinfield, executive director of Churches Assisting People in Conway. CAP serves a big chunk of Horry County from the Intracoastal Waterway at S.C. 544 to the Marion County line.

The pantry is always in need of basics, including pasta, sauce for pasta and canned goods.

Steinfield says CAP is feeding at least one-third more families. It is common to help 50 to 100 families a day (71 families on Monday). In the first six months of this year, CAP has provided 122,000 meals, compared with 150,000 in all of last year.

"The need is much, much greater," Steinfield says.

Ilo Jeane Hoffman, director of South Strand Helping Hand, works with about 20 churches, phoning them weekly to report particular needs - this week it's beef stew and canned fruit. "We certainly could use a food drive," Hoffman says.

In June, North Strand Helping Hand fed a total of 1,531 people, including 830 at the center on Long Bay Road off S.C. 90 and distributions in Atlantic Beach and to homebound seniors.

Margaret Owens, executive director, says North Strand needs protein sources such as pork and beans and canned meats (tuna and chicken).

Dozens of churches across the area constantly collect food for the pantries. As the need increases, the churches could use some help.

Neighborhood groups, service clubs, day camps and summer Bible schools are all possible organizers for summer food drives to help area pantries feed growing numbers of people.