WOOSTER – Marilyn Hicks walked to her car with her young child. Beside him, a volunteer pushed a cart with bags of canned food and fresh food.
This is Hicks’ second visit to the Wooster Hope Center’s food drive during July’s cash-free event. Just before the beginning of the month, his car died, costing him about US$1,600 that he did not have.
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Without a pantry, she would have to decide whether to spend money on her bills or food to feed her two children.
“I will have $35 until Aug. 3,” he said. “Between bills and another emergency, I don’t have much.”
Working as a walker, he could not do his job. Now, he relies on disability for a living.
Amid chronic food deserts and rising prices due to inflation, many people like Hicks are relying on grocery stores to feed their families.
And the increased demand is coming at a time when stores, like the Wooster Hope Center, are struggling to get food from food banks as a concern, leaving other nonprofits struggling to feed their communities.
Food deserts in Wayne and Ashland
Although Wayne County boasts rich farmland, some of its neighborhoods aren’t close enough to a large grocery store or supermarkets. To see also : Bars and restaurants look forward to sports betting for a boost.
U.S. The Department of Agriculture lists food deserts as low-income urban areas without easy access to fresh food (within 1 or 1/2 miles from people’s homes).
In rural areas the distance increases to 20 kilometers. The USDA does not monitor drug stores, dollar stores, and convenience stores.
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Three USDA-recognized food deserts exist in Wayne and Ashland counties using 2019 preliminary census data.
Nearly 4,000 people in the cities of Ashland, Wooster and Rittman cannot find a grocery store within one mile of their home. This number adds up to 8,615 people who do not have a grocery store within half a mile of where they live.
In Wooster, 2,082 low-income people in the city have low access within 1 mile of their homes; 3,356 have less than half a mile, according to USDA data.
Those numbers in Ashland are 1,033 and 2,932, while Rittman is at 842 and 2,327.
Food pantries struggle to fill a widening gap
Wayne County food pantries may be a food oasis in these deserts, but they, too, are in danger of drying up as demand increases and food banks struggle to find food. To see also : The Missouri Post Food Pantry continues to impact local veterans and military families.
Director of the Wooster Hope Center, Richard Frazier, has worked against malnutrition since 2011.
In those 10 years, his team has run programs for the elderly, students and a recent food truck serving up to 25,000 pounds of food a week, according to his estimate.
Despite his and others’ efforts, he said, the food shortage is increasing every year.
“There are different reasons for different seasons, but we always try to be flexible like we did during the pandemic and the food truck,” Frazier said.
For example, he said, high gas prices and inflation are affecting food security.
“People had to choose between gas and food,” he said.
Matt Allen, director of the Wooster Community Kitchen, provides and maintains 18 pantry boxes throughout Wayne County with the help of Frazier and local volunteers and donations.
“They’re meant to help people have a meal or two before they go out to eat,” Allen said. “But in the last three to four months, prices have gone up and more food is going out than going into (boxes).”
Allen and his crew refill the boxes “several times a month,” and he relies on local donations and individuals to fill the boxes when he can’t drive.
Now, as demand increases and food pantries run short on supplies, those donations have become even more important, he said.
Short on food and funds
Allen and Frazier buy food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, which supplies eight counties with non-perishable items. See the article : 4 locations were upgraded to CDC ‘high’ risk for immigration.
A combination of the pandemic, inflation and declining sales has increased demand and decreased the amount of food the bank receives from orders and donations, according to a News 5 Cleveland report.
“We’re 20% down in processed food this year and so when we see less food available to deliver, it’s harder to fill the shelves.” Katie Carver Reed, the network’s director of affiliates and programs, told News 5.
Back in Wooster, Frazier’s warehouse that normally holds 40,000 pounds of food now has 15,000 pounds.
She and other food pantries buy food at a discount from the Akron-Canton Foodbank, she said.
“If I went to Walmart, I would pay 10 to 15 times more,” Frazier said. “If you gave me four bags of groceries or $10, I would take the $10 because I can buy four bags, but that could change.”
Frazier estimates that if nothing changes in three months, the Wooster Hope Center will dip into its rainy-day food pantry fund.
“I think we were going to stay six months after this,” he said. “That’s the worst case scenario.”
Pantries call for donations
Before that happens, Frazier believes things can change if the Wayne County community gets involved.
He said the best way to help is to donate food and money.
“Anyone can bring a check or food to the Wooster Hope Center (at 807 Spruce St.) at the door next to the garage door,” Frazier said.
Financial donations can be mailed to the center or mailed to PO Box 1204.
Because Frazier works closely with the Wooster Community Kitchen, Allen said, people can donate to the Wooster Hope Center to support the kitchen.
Other donations can be sent to local churches, the United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties, the Ashland County Food Bank at Associated Charities and the Love Center Food Pantry in Holmes County.
Community gardens could help neighborhoods and food deserts
Community gardens are neighborhood-run and charity-supported vegetable and fruit gardens that are often planted on small residential lots.
Three have been established in Wooster by Habitat for Humanity that increase user nutrition to varying degrees.
Two are located in the 400 blocks of North Buckeye and Spink streets, respectively, and the third on the 300 block of West Larwill Street.
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Maintenance is different in every garden with different people and groups maintaining and cultivating the property.
Habitat allowed Wooster resident David Griffith to plant a Buckeye Street garden 10 years ago as part of his efforts to revitalize the neighborhood.
With the help of local donations and Griffith’s expertise in remodeling and creating accessories like their two rainwater tanks, the garden boasts over 15 plots, two sheds and two mulberries and pumpkins.
“I’ve run out of space,” he said.
Griffith started the garden as a way to build community and provide food while helping Habitat for Humanity.
“Neighbors and working people can grow food to supplement their food,” Griffith said from the garden. “People who help and grow things in the garden can help themselves.”
Studies, including one from 2012, show that families with community gardens ate more vegetables and were more food secure than their counterparts without gardens.
Tom Haven, a resident of Buckeye Street, grows zucchini, tomatoes, hot peppers, corn and other crops in a large area behind the building.
“I work on this with a neighbor,” Haven said holding a handful of zucchini. “We distribute the products and provide them to the people.”
When they’re harvested, farmers take their leftover crops and set up a free vegetable patch near the box on Buckeye Street, said Griffith, who maintains the box with the help of neighbors.
“It’s a great way to build community and get people involved during the food service,” he said.
Reach Bryce by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com
