By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The cars snaked around the parking lot at First United Methodist Church in Bowling Green on Friday morning, with the drivers waiting for food to fill empty cupboards, refrigerators and stomachs.
Richard Vollmar, a newcomer to the monthly drive-through food distributions, said his finances have been affected by the COVID pandemic. This was the retiree’s third time waiting in line for food to get him through the month.
“With the cost of food, my gosh, it’s either food or medicine,” said Vollmar, of Grand Rapids.
“It’s the best,” he said of the food distribution. “They give you so much food.”
Last month, Vollmar said he got a big box of oranges. “I made juice. It was wonderful.”
In the next car was Beth DiPillo, of Rudolph, with her mom. She is a regular at the First United Methodist food distributions.
“I’ve always had food issues,” and COVID just made her situation worse, DiPillo said. “It’s very important to me to come everytime.”
The wait has gotten longer in recent months, with DiPillo estimating it’s usually a 35 to 45 minute wait. But the wait is well worth it.
“It gets me through at least two and half or three weeks, depending on what you get,” she said.
Inching forward in a second line in the parking lot were George and Roberta Hardin, of Weston. The retired couple depends on the monthly food assistance.
“It does really help,” Roberta Hardin said. “We try to make it stretch.”
“We love their canned meat and powdered milk. We can really make that stretch,” she said.
Every month, the food available for the distribution differs. On Friday, the bags and boxes were full of eggs, bread, two canned vegetables, two canned fruits, raisins, rice, nuts, noodles, spaghetti and sauce, cereal, popcorn, milk , oranges, apples, juice, shredded cheese, soup, potatoes, frozen meat (pork, chicken and beef) and canned meat.
Like other food assistance programs in Wood County, the First United Methodist distribution has seen greater demand since the coronavirus hit.
“We definitely have increased since March,” said Margie Harris, who coordinates the food distribution with her husband, Tim.
Prior to COVID, most of those coming for food were senior citizens and a few families.
“We’re definitely been seeing more families,” Harris said.
The numbers have gone down slightly since they spiked in the spring.
“People aren’t panicking. At first they did and they were stocking up,” Harris said.
The numbers reflect the need. In January, the First United Methodist food distribution served 197 households and 446 individuals. In March, when people didn’t know what COVID would bring, there were 94 new households served, with a total of 328 households and 805 individuals served. In August, the numbers dropped, but were still higher than pre-COVID, with 30 new households, 234 households and 549 individuals served.
“It’s been an uptick in families for sure,” said Heather Sayler, who keeps stats for the food distribution program.
Greater needs are also being seen at the Brown Bag food program, located at 530 Sand Ridge Road, Bowling Green.
“We are seeing an increase,” said Peg Holland. “We’ve had a lot more new clients.”
In response, Brown Bag has loosened its rules and now allows people to pick up food once a month, rather than once every two months.
“A lot of people are unemployed,” Holland said.
Brown Bag also saw the huge jump in March, when people were fearing the worst.
“I think the fear of not having food” while stuck quarantining at home caused people to stock up as much as possible, Holland said.
A drive-thru for food will be held at Brown Bag on Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
BG Christian Food Pantry, at 419 Gould St., #6, has seen demand nearly triple since COVID struck.
In January to July of 2019, the pantry served 933 people. During those same months this year, 2,426 people were served. Of that number, 439 were new families, 696 were children, and 421 were seniors.
“We tripled,” said Todd Sayler, director of BG Christian Food Pantry. “We had to upgrade all our refrigeration.”
“We’re seeing a lot of new people,” he said. “The last four people I talked to said it was because of COVID” and job losses.
The food pantry allows people to get food once a month, plus pick up fresh produce every Monday, and baked goods and sweets donated by local restaurants any day.
“They can come in the back and take what they need,” Todd Sayler said.
At the same time that there has been an increase in demands, there has also been a surge in people stepping up to fill the need.
“If anything, COVID has been good for giving hearts,” Holland said, noting that food donations and grants have helped meet the demands.
Bowling Green Christian Food Pantry received a $10,000 donation from a local company, and is trying for grants that will help with the purchase of new refrigeration equipment. But more help is needed, Sayler stressed
First United Methodist Church’s food distribution received a grant from United Way’s emergency response fund, and has received money from new donors.
“The extra donations really helped. They gave us a chance to provide fresh bread, milk and eggs” during extra distributions earlier this year, Harris said. The donations also allow the program to buy groceries at cheaper prices in bulk from the Northwest Food Bank and Seagate Food Bank.
