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County's hungriest find empty shelves
Food pantries serving needy cut off by market changes
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Eric Parsons / Star staff Frank Nava of St. Anthony's Church in Oxnard searches the aisles of FOOD Share for supplies that his church's food pantry needs to serve the needy. "It looks like a lot, but it's not what we need," Nava said of his findings, scant on staple foods. "It's not the essentials."
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More from Local NewsThe cardboard boxes inside the cavernous warehouse are stuffed with crackers, cookies, flavored water and candy. There's only a smattering of staples like peanut butter, rice and canned goods that the needy used to get from FOOD Share, the county's regional food bank in Oxnard.
"No food food," is how warehouse volunteer Mary Lou Yellin puts it.
Food banks and pantries across the country are echoing the same complaint, although a farm bill that could go to the U.S. Senate next week may help, advocates say.
The bill would boost the amount of cash available to purchase food and make more people eligible for food stamp benefits. Meanwhile, agencies aiding the needy say they are facing a crisis in the food supply.
"It is a mega problem," said Dahlia Bolo, client resources coordinator at Catholic Charities in Oxnard.
The shortages are not tied to the usual ups and downs of feeding the poor, but a steep decline in the supply of commodities and changes in the food industry, officials say.
Nationwide, food banks receive millions of pounds of nutritious foods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's commodities program.
Bad times for farmers tend to be good times for food banks because they get products the Agriculture Department buys up to stabilize farm prices. But in the past few years with farm prices high, those bonus supplies have fallen dramatically.
"It's been going down and down and down," said Ross Fraser, spokesman for America's Second Harvest, the national office for 205 food banks in the country, including FOOD Share.
Food supply down 80%
America's Second Harvest says the value of that food dipped from $242 million to $67 million from 2003 to 2006. In California, it's down 80 percent, falling from $30.5 million to just over $6 million.
In Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, officials at food banks say other factors are driving down supplies, as well. They include tightened inventory control over groceries and the enormous success of discount outlets such as 99-cent stores, which buy products that used to be donated.
Manufacturers sell unwanted goods for hard cash to the discounters in what's called the secondary market instead of taking the tax write-offs by donating them, said Jayson Muelder, operations manager for FOOD Share.
"The secondary markets are really killing us," Muelder said.
Some grocers acknowledge they have gotten better at controlling inventory, leaving less surplus to give away, but say they are supporting food banks and pantries as much as ever.
"We are hoping we don't have as much left over as we have had in the past," said Terry O'Neil, spokesman for Ralphs and Food 4 Less. "In return, we have upped the amount of money we are contributing. We think it's important to support those organizations that are helping the hungry people in our community."
Jim Mangis, who heads the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, said food manufacturers have dramatically improved control of their inventories. The trend preceded the Southern California supermarket strike in 2003-04, when Wal-Mart was lauded as a leader in the strategy, Mangis said.
"They call it real-time inventorying," he said. "They often don't manufacture the product until it's ordered."
Fraser, though, sees some of the declines as reflecting consumer taste rather than business strategies. Food banks may be getting fewer canned goods because manufacturers are producing one-third fewer of those items annually than they did in 1970, he said.
"When was the last time you bought a can of peas?" he said. "The trend has been toward fresh food."
Trying to find other sources
Food banks are trying to compensate by trading with one another, buying food when donations won't fill the gaps, ramping up their food drives, going online to solicit donations. They're also opening a wider net to find products.
Six months ago, FOOD Share ordered a load of cereal shipped from Battle Creek, Mich. The nonprofit was willing to pay the freight because the supplies could not be found closer to home, Muelder said.
FOOD Share also kicked off its holiday food drive early this year because supplies are so low, said Jeanne Benitez, the charity's manager of annual giving. The drive officially starts Nov. 12 for the agency serving 38,000 people a month.
FOOD Share has vastly increased giveaways of fresh fruits and vegetables but needs nonperishable items such as canned tuna, peanut butter, beans, rice and canned fruits and vegetables, managers said.
In neighboring Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties, food banks are seeking the same staples. The drop in commodities has meant a loss of more than 14 million pounds of food, or 10 million meals, in Los Angeles County since 2002, said Michael Flood, president of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
"We don't see truckloads of pinto beans, rice and canned fruits and vegetables," Flood said.
In Ventura County, FOOD Share provides food to 155 agencies. Some are youth clubs, group homes and shelters, but the 60 pantries have been the hardest hit, said John Garcia, agency relations manager.
Volunteers from St. Anthony's Church in Oxnard found slim success when they arrived Tuesday for their weekly pickup.
They had just finished a morning's work at the church pantry. About a dozen families came by for food.
Heidi Crarry, 30, of Oxnard, picked up a box of food for herself and her two children, Woody, 4, and Renae, 3. The unemployed mom said she was glad to have it even if the box was a bit shy on staples.
"When you don't have anything, it's a godsend to have something," she said.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on November 2, 2007 at 6:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is really sad for our county that people are going hungry. I pray the everyone takes a step to donate food to the food banks... We all have things in our cupboard that we can do without or bought too many of. Every little thing would help.
Posted by spokenit on November 2, 2007 at 10:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How about this.. all the people that make millions of dollars step up and buy the food for these places and people. It could be solved w/ help from all these people that make so much money to entertain us. But Oh no lets, let the middle class do it. They can do everything.
Posted by clementine on November 2, 2007 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There was a t.v. program recently that said the middle class donate more money to charities than the rich. I guess the rich forgot where most of them came from.
Posted by meblondie138 on November 2, 2007 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Every year we see the same story ran in all the papers, and every year the community rallies together to give at this time of year. Why is it though that this is only relevant during the holidays? People go hungry throughout the entire year, not just during the holidays.
Posted by Oxnard_Native on November 2, 2007 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The food is low because we are feeding all these people who do not belong here. Years ago we didn't run out of food. I remember getting that cheese and peanut butter, but we are feeding two countries now, why would you not think the food wouldn't run out. Let the government feed everyone. I don't mean to be bitter but I am in that middle class and I pay a heck of a lot of taxes and no one is helping me!!!!! I'm an American so I don't qualify.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on November 2, 2007 at 8:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oxnard_Native ,I agree
Posted by kenclubber on November 2, 2007 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
give a lot of thanks to Bush, the jerk
Posted by Oxnard_Native on November 2, 2007 at 11:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wdwinder you are so right, look how much money they are raising for the presidential elects, thousands of dollars and Oprah just raised all that money for Obama right up the road in Santa Barbara and they don't even live in this state and came and took our money and left, but they want us to feed the hungry. Heck I am the hungry. I guess I have to keep repeating myself "what has this world come too!!"
Posted by ironwoman on November 3, 2007 at 6:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I donate every month to Food Share and I think it's sad that they don't have enough food.
I know that the economy is tough right now, housing and gas prices to name only two but people really need to get together and donate.
We can blame the rich all we want, blame the President all we want, and blame society all we want but the bottom line is our community needs to step up. So what about CEO's, other countries, Oprah... etc...
If every household in Ventura County bought an extra Turkey and donated it to Food Share, that would help.
I know I am.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on November 4, 2007 at 7:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
honestopinion ,Thankyou for your help! Im sure it is helping more then you may know........
I always buy my Turkeys at Thanksgiving and save one for Christmas. Due to the prices are cheaper and they can be frozen for up to six months. I think it would be great if everyone bought an extra Turkey, few cans of corn, maybe some stuffing or instant potatoes!!! Whatever you can give helps soooo much !!!!
Posted by spokenit on November 4, 2007 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Honestopinion to some extent I agree w/u. But some of us can barely feed ours or have just enough to feed ours. Two turkeys is great but why dont the stores just give the turkeys to the needy? Why do we have to buy them first? Those of us who can afford to buy two really may need it also. Speaking of CEO's Oprah, The Pitts, the Pres. etc... IT would be far easier for them and it wouldnt even make a dent in their pockets. So Yah they should give more then us the middle class. Because if it wasn't for us there would be no them.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on November 4, 2007 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
spokenit ,And that is fine if you can not afford to do so. There are alot of people that cant. God Bless!!!!!!!
PS At Thanksgiving you can get a good size Turkey for about 6.00-12:00 and at Christmas they are double that if not more!
Posted by Oxnard_Native on November 5, 2007 at 5:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
AnnaWhaat you are right the turkeys are cheaper to buy at Thanksgiving an Spokenit I agree with you the stores should just give them away. I now our church goes to Albertsons and gets the stuff they take off the shelves at least three times a week and then hands it out for FREE. Why does it have to go thru hands like that if you are just gonna have to give it away anyway lower the prices or give it to this organization. And to spread the word for anyone who is hungry and doesn't like to go to the shelters my family has been feeding the hungry for about 8 years now every Thanksgiving in the Plaza park. So if you know anyone who doesn't have anywhere to go please tell them to come and join everyone.
Posted by daze805 on November 5, 2007 at 5:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree meblondie. Good idea to help these folks year-round.
Posted by RC on November 5, 2007 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
or do what my mom did when she was raising us...make beans and rice.It goes a long way and costs just pennies to make
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