Editor’s note: This story is part of a series addressing the issue of food insecurity in Richland County. The series will continue throughout 2017 and feature interviews with those working to mitigate the problem and the obstacles they encounter.
MANSFIELD — One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to food security.
That’s what Catholic Charities in Mansfield has discovered, which is why the organization offers an array of services, in addition to its food pantry, to make sure it’s giving people a hand-up and not simply a handout.
Food security is the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
In contrast, food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.
According to Feeding America, 19,920 Richland County residents were considered food insecure in 2014.
Sue Warren, case manager at Catholic Charities, isn’t surprised by that number.
“I don’t think anyone in Richland County is starving, but there are a lot of food insecurities,” she said.
The H.O.P.E. Food Pantry at Catholic Charities serves on average between 600 and 650 families per month, according to Susan Dyson, food service specialist with Catholic Charities. That equates to 1,300 to 1,400 people.
Last year, the pantry distributed 194,214 pounds of food, the majority of which (153,350 pounds) was collected from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
Households are eligible to receive food every 30 days.
“Our food pantry has really changed and grown since I started (in 2009),” Warren said.
The pantry was originally housed in the Red Cross building, where volunteers would distribute bags of food based on family size.
In 2010, the pantry moved to its current location at 523 Park Avenue East and decided to go with a client-choice format.
“It’s set up like a grocery store, so depending on the size of your family, you get a shopping cart and you go through and pick out the food that you like to eat,” Warren said. “You can plan your meals accordingly to what you have at home and what other pantries have.
“We could put it all in a bag and say here you go, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll eat it. We would find cans of beets and peas down the hall (at the previous location). They would take it out of their bag.”
The food pantry is stocked primarily by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, as well as businesses, private donors, churches and schools. Zara Construction dropped off almost 9,000 pounds of food in December, Warren said.
A variety of food items line the shelves, including pull-tab canned goods (to accommodate those who don’t have a can opener), foods that don’t require heating (to accommodate those who don’t have a microwave or oven), as well as fresh produce. Warren said during the summer months, local gardeners donate their extra fruits and vegetables.
“December is one of our biggest months for donations, and that carries us through until the early summer time,” Warren said.
More families frequent the pantry in the summertime because children aren’t in school, meaning they’re eating more meals at home.
The Cleveland Food Bank has income guidelines food recipients must abide by, “but (according to guidelines from) Catholic Charities, because we get our own food through other sources, no one that asks for food will leave without food,” Warren said.
“We do ask that they be a Richland County resident, but if they’re from Ashland County and they don’t know that and come here, we’ll still give them food and make them aware of food pantries in their area.”
Catholic Charities’ Mansfield office, which is part of the Diocese of Toledo, collaborates with organizations to conduct cooking classes, giving people the opportunity to see what meals can be prepared using items found in the H.O.P.E. Food Pantry and other area pantries.
Asked if the organization ever fears people could be taking advantage of its service, Warren said, “That’s not something that we worry about. I’m sure that some people do, but in the whole broader sense, the people that come to our food pantry need food.
“I wouldn’t want to say that person is taking advantage and doesn’t need the food and that one does. If you come to the food pantry, then you need food, no matter what their motivation is.”
Some come because the cost of utilities, medical prescriptions/operations, car repairs, rent/mortgage, insurance — and let’s not forget emergency situations — eat away at their paycheck.
Warren noted many people who are considered “working poor” use the pantry.
“We want that person to stay working so if that is their need then it can be filled,” Warren said.
“Life happens”
Living a stable life one day and struggling to get by the next.
As Rebecca Owens, Catholic Charities regional director, put it, “Life happens to everybody. Just because you’ve never experienced (food insecurity) where you might have the need to come to the pantry, that’s not to say you won’t in the future because there could be something where the wheels fall off all of a sudden and you’re really down and out.”
Case and point: the shuttering of the General Motors plant in Ontario.
When that happened about seven years ago, Catholic Charities’ clientele changed.
“We were used to seeing typically lower-income folks that have been coming, many of them, for years … But with GM closing, plus all of the small businesses around the community that fed into General Motors or that General Motors supported by purchasing parts from, we had a lot of people who at one time were donors become clients because their situation changed,” Owens said.
Clancy Harrison, a pediatric registered dietitian and food insecurity expert, touched on the emotional toll that financial hardships can have on people — and the social adversity people must overcome while relying on food assistance programs during the TEDxWilmington Women event last year.
She shared about her childhood friend who found support from Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to help feed her newborn child who was diagnosed with spina bifida.
“On top of new and profound medical expenses, she was paying $1,200 a month for formula,” Harrison said.
Her friend was mortified during a trip to the grocery store when a cashier said, “WIC verification, aisle four” as she was checking out. Upon hearing that, a customer standing in line behind her asked if she was holding the newest iPhone, adding a condescending follow-up comment, “Well, that’s just really interesting, isn’t it?”
Harrison asserted, “If we are serious about improving the health of our next generation, we must dismantle the stigma associated with food assistance programs. In order to do that, we need to understand that the face of hunger is fluid; the face of poverty is constantly changing.”
Crisis navigator
A few years ago, Catholic Charities created the position of crisis navigator, which is currently filled by Diane Bail Bemiller. As crisis navigator, Bemiller endeavors to identify the reason why people are using support services like Catholic Charities in the hopes of connecting them to resources that could help stabilize whatever situation arises.
“Our approach is very holistic,” Owens said. “If you come to us for one thing, we are not going to just talk with you about that, but we’re also going to talk about your housing situation, work situation, medical needs — that type of thing because, for the most part, we are able to help with a lot of different needs.
“If we’re not able to do it with the resources we have internally, then we will help the person get connected to somewhere out in the community.”
Catholic Charities does much more than provide food to hungry people — it also offers housing and medical assistance, as well as financial and career workshops.
Bemiller said the financial workshops, which are led by local bankers, are often well-attended.
“The people that attend those workshops walk away with a wealth of information, and we get a lot of positive feedback,” she said.
Many of the people Bemiller has spoken with at the food pantry are on fixed incomes or have low-paying jobs, she said.
Bemiller has discovered that one of the main reasons why they pursue housing assistance at Catholic Charities is because of job loss or a reduction in work hours, and that could be a result of a business closure or seasonal work coming to an end.
“People tell me that they’re making the most out of their money,” she said. “They’ve cut out a lot of expenses just to be able to make ends meet.”
Housing assistance proves to be a common request. According to Owens, Catholic Charities fields around 5,000 or 6,000 calls a year from people seeking housing assistance.
“But with our funding for housing assistance, we can only help between 100 and 125 households,” she said.
The organization also sees an increase in requests for medical assistance at the beginning of the calendar year when individuals pay their deductibles or may see an increase in co-pay fees.
“In our business, repeat numbers or high numbers are not a good thing,” Owens said. “We would much rather see it going the other way, and really for us to be able to spend more time helping people help themselves by either educating them or getting them in financial workshops, budgeting or what have you and just really being that hand-up instead of a handout.”
3E Project
Author Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.”
Sometimes, people don’t know how to keep from standing in their sunshine: instead of recognizing and embracing the good qualities they possess, they focus on the bad and beat themselves up for it, regardless if it’s a fault of their doing or not.
To counter this pattern of thinking, Catholic Charities launched the 3E Project in January of 2016, which aims to open participants’ eyes to the assets they have and how they can use them.
The goal of the 3E Project is to empower, encourage and engage individuals to become self-sufficient. It is funded by the Richland County Foundation.
As part of this year-long program, participants build a personal action plan, attend workshops and meet with a case manager and others who can provide assistance. Each experience is customized to meet the individual’s needs.
Warren, who coordinates this program, said she can see people’s confidence build as they complete the asset and mind mapping, during which participants list positive attributes they believe they possess.
“People cry when they see that they have something to offer,” she said.
Participants are required to have a job or be actively searching. Catholic Charities partners works with area employers, staffing agencies and job training programs to help participants achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.
According to Warren, 11 people completed the program last year, about half of whom already held jobs.
By the end of the program, everyone was employed. That stabilized their housing and helped address their transportation needs, Warren said.
“These people are truly trying to get ahead but just had some gaps and didn’t know how to fill them to go forward,” Warren said.
