Food pantry at Monroe United Methodist Church seeks to raise $15,000 to keep operations afloatWithout those funds, bi-weekly grocery distribution will be cut in half and the Christmas food box will be eliminated, By Nancy Kriz

MONROE - One of the area’s food pantries, where those in need go to for help, is now reaching out for the community’s help as it faces its own fiscal challenges. The food pantry based at the Monroe United Methodist Church on Maple Avenue is facing the tough Oct. 1 decision of eliminating its annual Christmas dinner food box distribution and scaling back the number of bags of groceries given to the 80 to 120 families from two bags twice a month to one bag twice a month if it doesn’t see an increase in cash contributions. But before that happens, the food pantry is hoping to raise $15,000 in the next five months to keep those cuts from happening. From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010, the food pantry spent about $15,000 for food purchases from the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley as well as where the food is at the lowest cost, according to food pantry volunteer procurement coordinator Bob Jankelunas. Holiday purchases, which include items like hams, pies and fresh produce and rolls, are made from local grocery stores and farmers markets. Now, even with sparse contributions in the first four months of this year, the food pantry only has about $6,000 on hand to provide the same services this year as in 2010. 'Tough decisions’ The $11,000 would give the pantry financial sustenance through year’s end, according to Jankelunas, with the balance serving as starter funds for 2012. “We don’t have enough money to sustain the operations for the rest of the year,” said Jankelunas. “There is not enough money to do Thanksgiving and Christmas at the present. It costs at least $3,000 to do a holiday distribution. I don’t want to come to October and have to make these tough decisions.” While the food pantry regularly receives community and corporate donations of non-perishable food items, that only amounts to 20 to 25 percent of the food it requires to distribute to the needy, according to Jankelunas. It purchases the balance of the 75 to 80 percent it needs from the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley (where it gets approximately 6,000 pounds of food monthly) and other cheap sources. That’s why cash is important. “We are going to have to make the decision to cut out the Christmas food box if we don’t see an increase in monetary donations,” said Gerry Cirrincione, volunteer food pantry coordinator. “And we’re going to have to stop giving out two bags of groceries twice a month to the families we see here monthly. It’s going to be heart-breaking.” 'Bonus’ items at $2 a can Cirrincione said the Christmas food box would be the logical - though undesirable - choice, because of the proximity of Thanksgiving and Christmas, combined with the notion that everyone celebrates Thanksgiving. Right now, the food pantry is quietly scaling back on “bonus” items put in its grocery bag distribution, according to Jankelunas. As of May 1, for example, the food pantry will decrease the number of cans of beef stew from two to one monthly. Beef stew costs $2 per can, Jankelunas said. Giving out 200 cans twice a month costs $800, so the pantry will cut back on that giveaway. “I have enough stew for one more giveaway,” he said. “I’m not buying anymore. It’s the costly items that are going to go first.” Other types of items will be cut out of bags as well. “We haven’t really cut back yet, but we have made a conscious decision to not purchase items we would normally provide because they are expensive,” he said. “Like a pasta side dish or cookies or dry goods or seasoned rice mix.” Jankelunas is hopeful that two forthcoming food drives sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service and the Monroe-Woodbury School District will help keep shelves stocked throughout the summer and keep the food pantry from cutting back to only one grocery bag twice monthly per family in the fall. 'It could be me’ Meanwhile, the need for food increases. “We’ve never turned anyone away,” said Cirrincione, adding she’s seen the numbers of families who need help triple in the past two years. “I have people tell me they make too much for Social Services but not enough to provide for their kids. We try to do what we can to help people. People are losing their homes. People are losing their jobs. It’s the old standard: Do I pay my bills or do I feed my kids?” Cirrincione remained hopeful the community will come through with monetary contributions so the current food distribution offerings remain in place. “It’s so important to be a staple in the community,” she said. “We want to continue helping and be a source of food and generosity. It’s hard for me to put into words, but we are looking for the community to help.” Jankelunas is hopeful people will recognize how helpful the food pantry is to the community. “I look at it as it’s all about people,” he said. “We have people who support us [with] monetary donations, through food donations, through volunteering. Hopefully people recognize the need of their neighbors. Maybe they can’t move a box but maybe they can give a $10 donation. If all goes well, we will raise $15,000 in that five-month period. It seems that someone always comes through at some point, but I don’t see that right now.” Jankelunas understands the food pantry may not be a priority to some, but he asked them to reconsider its value. “People don’t necessarily think about the food pantry,” he added. “We’re a little thing in the back of a church to help people who don’t necessarily want to say they’re hungry or homeless. People need to get a little bit of awareness. We might be a wealthy community, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have people who need help.” Cirrincione reminded people that everyone’s financial situation can change in a blink. “It’s always that thought that 'it could be me’ standing on that line. And there’s nothing wrong with standing on that line and letting us help you.”

You never know, you could be there yourself. It’s always that thought that 'it could be me’ standing on that line. And there’s nothing wrong with standing on that line and letting us help you.” Gerry Cirrincione

Can you help?

Checks can be sent to:
The Monroe United Methodist Church Food Pantry
47 Maple Ave.
Monroe, N.Y. 10950
783-6371
Open: Second and fourth Saturday of the month from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
Other area food pantries need your help too:
The Highland Mills United Methodist Church Food Pantry
654 Route 32
Highland Mills, N.Y. 10930
928-6177
Open: Fridays from 11 to 12 p.m.
The Monroe Presbyterian Food Pantry
142 Stage Road
Monroe, N.Y. 10950
783-1632
Open: First and third Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; and the second and fourth Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Other food pantries doing okay
Officials of the two other food pantries serving the area say they continue to see increases in people seeking their assistance, but the community continues to be supportive through their donations of food items and cash.
“I feel that people have been extraordinarily generous,” said Gail Dejmal, volunteer coordinator of the Monroe Presbyterian Food Pantry on Stage Road. “Contributions are up, though they have slowed done a bit. But there are many people who support us and continue to do so.”
Dejmal said she consistently assists 60 families and overall has seen a 15 percent increase in usage over a year ago.
“You know there are people out there who never thought they’d be picking up food from the pantry,” said Dejmal. “That’s what we’re here for. I think the community is much more aware of the need.”
Her colleague, Beverly Powell of the Highland Mills United Methodist Church Food Pantry on Route 32, is seeing a comparable increase in numbers.
“We service 30 families weekly,” said Powell. “Three to five years ago, it was maybe only nine or ten families. “
Like other area food pantry volunteer officials, Powell welcomed all type of non-perishable food items.
“We take anything, but we ask that people don’t give us outdated items,” she said. “If we find that we do have some outdated things, we tell people to feed their animals with it.”
Powell agreed with representatives of both Monroe food pantries that she is seeing new faces from all walks of life.
“I’m not a judge,” she said. “I don’t ask questions. They’re proud. They don’t want to be there, they’re there (for food) because they have to be there. No one goes hungry if they come to the Highland Mills pantry. Nobody is ever turned away. I feel it’s our duty to help people in need.” - Nancy Kriz