‘Crisis point’: Montco launches council to address growing food insecurity

Food pantries across Montgomery County are facing a “crisis point” of increased hunger.

“I think many people would recognize that there are pockets of really severe poverty within Montgomery County, so that those people are quick to highlight those,” said Mindy Bartscherer of the Montco Anti-Hunger Network. “But it’s everywhere, and even in the wealthiest parts of the county there are many people who are facing food insecurity.”

The United States Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as when someone doesn’t have enough food to support a healthy, active lifestyle. More than 73,000 Montco residents are experiencing food insecurity, according to Feeding America’s 2022 report, the latest data available. That represents an increase of more than 20,000 from the previous year.

Cindy Wedholm, executive director of Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard in Ambler, said a combination of COVID-19 impacts, inflation, rising home and rent prices, and scaled-back SNAP benefits last year, have led to the significant increase in food insecurity in the area.

Mattie N. Dixon is one of the 60-plus food pantries and soup kitchens that are members of MAHN, which saw a 60% increase in food pantry visits last year.

“That’s part of the reason that we’ve been spurred to take action here,” Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija said.

In March, Montco commissioners created a Food Policy Council to look at food waste, food insecurity and what the county can do better for its residents.

“Part of our goals in establishing a Food Policy Council, which is something that’s increased around the country and local governments right now, is to tackle food insecurity itself,” Makhija said, “but also boost local food production and reduce food waste. And a number of these things tie in together.”

Commissioners hope to finalize the leadership team and get the council up and running by mid-summer. The council will host bimonthly meetings that will be open to the public and will also have working groups to tackle particular issues in the local food system.

“The council is going to be a place for all of these people and different stakeholders to come together to talk about ideas and opportunities to collaborate,” Makhija said. “So that includes farmers, nutrition educators, pantry operators, business owners, policymakers within government, and others to help us develop innovative solutions to our food system challenges.”

Makhija said the county gave MAHN $1 million last year to buy and distribute food. The county has also invested $4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to build a warehouse with Montco’s Share Food Program to be able to collect and hold more food for distribution. That plan is in progress.

“We’re going to be able to collect a lot more in terms of food donations from organizations and institutions around Montgomery County,” he said.

Wedholm said summer is often a particularly difficult time for food pantries. Kids who are out of school are in need of food that they otherwise receive through free lunch programs at schools. The other challenge is there aren’t as many donations coming in, unlike during the winter holiday season.

Nelly Jiménez-Arevalo, executive director of ACLAMO, a social services organization based in Norristown, said that their informal food support became an official food pantry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand still hasn’t let up.

Many of their community members are immigrants and may not be eligible to access federal benefits like SNAP. They feel “at home,” Jiménez-Arevalo said, being able to speak with bilingual staff at ACLAMO and connect with an organization they’re already familiar with through their work in the community.

“They feel like they can trust us and they can come and get the help that they need,” she said.

To that end, many food security organizations look to provide community members with culturally appropriate foods that are best fitted to their lifestyle and resources they may or may not have — such as a refrigerator or a stove.

MAHN’s Bartscherer said it’s important for food-serving organizations throughout the county to improve how they understand and meet community members’ needs.

Mare, who didn’t want to give a last name, has been a client at Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard for more than two years.

“It’s called food insecurity, but it is hunger. It is starvation,” Mare said. “Food insecurity pretties up the situation, and it’s not a pretty situation. People are sleeping in the streets. People are hungry, people are starving. It’s not insecurity, it’s poverty.”

As a vegan who has struggled to find food that fits her diet at food pantries, she said Mattie N. Dixon is one of the few places where her dietary needs are respected.

“They treat everybody here with dignity,” she said.