Second Harvest struggles to fill escalating need for food

LORAIN — Nathan Manning's hands flew Friday as he filled cardboard boxes with beans, pasta, beef jerky and other nonperishables. For an hour, the Republican state senator from North Ridgeville helped sort cans on the warehouse floor at Second Harvest Food Bank on Baumhart Road. Afterward, he said he was awed by the row upon row of shelves stacked to the rafters with boxes — it showed just how important legislative support for food banks is as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to do damage. Helping feed the hungry is good for everyone, Manning said: "If so many people are turning to other means to get food, or if their health gets worse, it will cost us all more in the long run." He wasn't alone. Rolling up their sleeves for the morning were a number of elected officials, appointees and aides — State Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, Lorain Safety Services Director Sanford Washington, Sandusky Community Development Director Jonathan Holody, representatives from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan's offices and others joined in. South Amherst Mayor David Leshinski was part of a group that checked expiration dates and wiped down canned goods to be packed. The village of 1,650 is home to an older population that is hurting, he said. "The needs are there. We can see those needs. Like anyone, we have them too," Leshinski said. Senior citizens are where Second Harvest is seeing need spike the most, according to President and CEO Julie Chase-Morefield. In the past year, the number of seniors asking for help has jumped by 60 percent, she said. Times aren't getting easy for many others. There is a depth of need that no one understood until the pandemic hit, Chase-Morefield said. The COVID crisis threw into stark relief just how many people had been living on the edge, especially in rural communities. About 40 percent of the families seeking food from Second Harvest had never done so before March 2020, she said. And after plateauing this summer, demand for food assistance is now rising again. The difference is that now there's no longer an Ohio National Guard presence to help distribute boxes of fruit, vegetables and other staples. Food and transportation costs are also rising. Everything costs a few cents more compared to last year, but price tags on some items have shot through the roof — overall, going to the grocery store costs 5.3 percent more now than it did this time last year, according to the Consumer Price Index. Chase-Morefield said there are murmurs that food prices will jump another 6 percent to 8 percent in 2022. "It's terrifying because it means we can't go out and buy as much," she said. One of the main concerns she voiced Friday to officials is the end of the Child Tax Credit. Under the American Rescue Plan, it's advanced tax return deductions to parents in monthly payments of $250 to $300 since the summer. But December's credit will be the last unless Congress acts to extend it. Democrats are mobilizing to stretch it through 2022, but if that effort fails Chase-Morefield fears another surge in need among Lorain County families with kids. Those families are already facing tough decisions, she told officials. Quarantines in 2020 caused many child care providers to fold or downsize; now parents are desperate for child care again but have few options. That means more moms and dads are staying home instead of returning to the workforce, which only worsens supply chain issues, Chase-Morefield said. And without enough workers to make and deliver goods, prices rise even further. Her voice broke as she told officials that Second Harvest workers also are feeling the strain. "We're struggling," Chase-Morefield said. "It's been a long road and we don't see the end. I think that's a feeling a lot of people have right now." When the nonprofit's 40,900-square-foot distribution facility opened in 2015, she never thought it would run out of space, but pushed by the pandemic it's reaching that point. Boxes of food are stacked high not only in the warehouse, but also crowd the dock. Second Harvest is looking to expand both its dock and dry storage, and hoping federal American Rescue Plan funding is available. But as fast as food arrives, it's shipped back out, said Susan Bartosch, director of external affairs. The big needs are always peanut butter, cereal, tuna, soup, rice, pasta and canned fruit and vegetables. "Anything that would be nutritious," Bartosch said, "and especially protein." All manner of items filled sorting bins Friday: hot sauce, baby food, macaroni and cheese, hot chocolate, peas, yams, canned mushrooms and bottled water. At one table, officials folded donated clothing, while boxes along a wall held diapers, notebooks, backpacks, rugs — even an electric lawnmower. Food is what keeps people going, though, said Mark Ballard II, who is both a member of Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield's administration and the Second Harvest board. "It's good to see food being repurposed," he said. "My big thing is eliminating food waste, seeing how you can clean off some of this stuff and provide a little TLC, then send it to people in need. … If you want to go biblical, it says the poor will always be among us. It's our due diligence and our duty to take care of those who need a little support." Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.