Special Feature
Serving the Hungry When Broke
As the economy slumps, the need for food donations rises
By Beth Liu
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| Martha's Table located at 14th and V streets in Northwest Washington, D.C. (Photo by: Beth Liu) |
Every weekday around 5 p.m., a white van visits the Mount Vernon Square area in Washington, D.C., parks on a small patch of paved concrete, and offers dinner to the hungry. Although new construction and money are flowing into the neighborhood, 40-50 people who can't afford the gentrifying area line up each evening for a hot meal.
Out of the white van's side door, volunteers hand out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, meat sandwiches (turkey or bologna) and dessert (cake or pie.) Out the back of the van, clients are served hot soup and tea.
Nearly every recipient in line says, "Thank you," "God bless," or "Thank you, Martha."
The van's dispatched by Martha's Table, a Washington, D.C., non-profit that helps the community through food programs and childcare. As the economy worsens, food banks in the District have seen a decrease in supply and an increase in demand.
Help for the District
On the last Thursday of every month, Martha's Table hosts Pantry Day. Held behind the main office, people stop by and pick up bags of bread and canned or fresh food. It's additional help for families who can't make the groceries last until the end of the week.
Since the economy started failing, the non-profit has seen a sharp increase in the number of people in need of food, particularly in this program area.
"There's been a definite increase in demand for grocery items," Demetrios Recachinas, food services manager for Martha's Table, said. Some of these people live in homes, but it's a choice of either paying a bill or buying groceries that week, he said.
Martha's Table started serving the community about 28 years ago, according to Recachinas. The group now serves 558,000 meals and snacks per year. Almost all of the meals Martha's Table provides come from individual or corporate donations.
The Impact
The recent financial strife mean food and monetary donations don't come as easily as before -- a common problem not only in D.C.
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| Tony Gatling, a Martha's Table volunteer, loads food on the van, which will be distributed to one of three locations in Northwest D.C. (Photo by: Beth Liu) |
"We've had a really tough year," said Marley Rave, director of communications of Meals on Wheels, an organization that financially supports food service groups across the U.S. for the homeless and needy.
According to an October poll by Meals on Wheels, 61 percent of their programs have seen a decrease in donations from corporations since September. There's also a reported 68 percent decrease in individual donations in that one-month's time.
Some programs are forced to feed fewer people, either by serving fewer meals or delivering two times per week instead of three -- a direct result of the few donations to the programs.
In an effort to reduce expenses, Martha's Table held off on hiring for vacant positions, and will host a smaller, more modest holiday party for its 75 staff members.
The budget is "thin already," said Lindsey Buss, president of Martha's Table. They need to "be creative in terms of where food comes from," and ways to get more donations.
"There's a lot of anxiety about donations," both financial and food, Buss said.
More than twice the number of people have come to Martha's Table for emergency food bags since the beginning of 2008. Social works refer those in need to Martha's Table, and they can pick up and bring home food immediately.
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| Number of individuals who picked up an emergency food bag from Martha's Table in the past six months (Data from Martha's Table) |
The difficulty is finding savings without cutting programs, Buss explained. And the need for Martha's Table to be fully operational is high.
About 35,000 District children are hungry or are at risk for going hungry, according to So Other's Might Eat, a D.C.-non profit that serves the homeless and poor. One in five D.C. residents are poor, and at least 10,000 people in the city are homeless at any given time.
Moving Forward
To help ease its financial pains, Martha's Table is "trying to engage people in a lot of different ways," said Buss.
The biggest needs are funds and food donations. If people can't donate, Buss said, they should volunteer since food and time are both valuable.
"The main thing is we continue to participate in the community," he said, "because it's important in challenging times like this."
Meals on Wheels also continues to seek the public's help for donations. But in the meantime, programs across the country simply have to brace themselves for the few weeks until the end of the difficult 2008 year.
"We keep on keeping on," Rave said.