Karen Little stands in the center of a 10 X 16 room and waves her right hand from corner to corner.
If she were throwing handfuls of marbles, they would hit strike only a few boxes of stacked against one wall.
“A year ago, this room was full of food,” Little, the director of Sweet Home Emergency Ministries said.
Now, even though the number of families in need is increasing on a daily basis, the amount of food SHEM is receiving from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dwindling.
“Our numbers of families in need are increasing phenomenally,” Little said. “For the last three years, we’ve added 40 new families a month and that is true again this year.”
Currently, SHEM assists some 300 families about 1,000 persons per month.
“When you think it’s about one-eighth the population of Sweet Home, for a week’s worth of groceries, that’s amazing,” Little said.
Especially significant for Little is the number of homeless families moving into the area.
“They’re living in cars, under bridges, camping along Quartzville,” Little said. “We had five homeless families come in on Tuesday alone.”
Although SHEM still has foodstuffs such as cereals on its shelves, some staples such as canned stew, chili and tomato-based items are sorely missed.
Little said SHEM works with Linn-Benton Food Share and the Oregon Food Bank system, but their sources have dried up as well.
“There’s a statewide lack of supplies,” Little said. “We’ve noticed that for the last two months, we can order 15 cases of something and get just two.”
Little said SHEM has gotten 25,000-30,000 pounds of USDA items each month for years. Now, the last two orders have been for 10,000 pounds.
Ryan McCambridge of Linn-Benton Food Share, said SHEM is one of their largest agencies. SHEM has received about 175,000 pounds of food each year and with three months to go in the current fiscal period, has received 142,000 pounds.
“The USDA is at the lowest level in the last four years,” McCambridge said.
McCambridge said federal funds that traditionally have been used for commodities was used for drought relief.
“That amounted to $250 million,” he said. “That has an impact on school lunch and food box programs.”
Linn-Benton Food Share distributed 3.5 million pounds of food last year and 3.7 million pounds this year.
The USDA accounts for 20% of that amount, down from 90% in the 1980s and 1990s.
Local food drives add another 20%, and 30-35% from the Oregon Food Bank.
“The remainder comes from regional food sharing between food banks,” McCambridge said.
McCambridge echoes Little’s sentiments about a growing need.
“We’ve seen dramatic increases. Since 1996, we’re up 42% and since the 2001-02 fiscal year, we’re up 12% alone,” he said. “The key to getting through this is local food drives such as those put on by the postal carriers. They help us greatly and we really appreciate it.”
Little said the encouraging factor is that SHEM is located in a community that pulls together when the chips are down.
“This community has character,” Little said. “When you let people know you have a need, they come through. They are always most generous.”
SHEM is working with a variety of foods and replacements such as soy items.
“We’re learning about soy products,” she said. “It’s a very good source of protein.”
As summer approaches, Little said the community can help SHEM in many ways, including:
– Cash donations to be used to purchase needed items.
– Donating canned goods. “When you go to the store and something is on a two for one special, get two and donate one can to SHEM,” she suggested.
– Plant extra rows of items in your home garden and donate the produce.
– Donate fresh meats (home canned are not acceptable) which may be canned by families.
– Grow plant starts in at home and donate them for client gardens.
– Organize local food drives.
For more information about SHEM or how to help, call 367-6504.