By Shomial Ahmad, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-875368.mp3
Dallas, TX –
The U.S. Agriculture Department ranks Texas second worst in the nation in terms of the number of people who may go hungry. Nearly 1 in 6 Texans don't have enough food. In our Monday economy segment Shomial Ahmad reports unemployment is putting a strain on food banks in North Texas, but help for the hungry is still available.
Shomial: Inside the St. Andrew's food pantry in Fort Worth, volunteers fill paper sacks with taco shells and ground turkey, canned green beans and frozen blueberries. Pattie Watson directs the pantry. She says it's been giving free groceries to twice as many people this year than last. Part of the reason: more first-time visitors.
Watson: We're getting more and more people coming to the door, and saying, 'I never had to do this before. I'm not sure what to do.' Better dressed people. People driving better cars, because they bought them when times were better.
Shomial: Daniel Morales is one of the people waiting for free food. He's 59 and a former security officer.
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Morales: I lost my job about two months ago. I had no income coming in. I need help with the food, you know.
Shomial: Zermira Pena's husband lost his full-time job at a printing company and now works part-time at an AutoZone. She visited the pantry only a couple of times last year.
Pena: We lost our car, we lost our house, and now, we moved into an apartment. And now, we're here getting food-- almost every week.
Shomial: Pena says a $400 food stamp allowance isn't enough to feed her, her husband and three kids. With Texas unemployment now at a two-decade high of more than 8 percent, food banks and pantries aren't surprised by the increased need. Vicki Mize of the 2-1-1 state referral network says the economy and a near four-month backlog of food stamp applications has led to more food-related phone calls to her Tarrant County area hotline.
Mize: For the first ten months of this year, we've already had over 23,000 food requests. And the majority of that is for food pantries. That's a 46 percent increase from this same time last year.
Shomial: Those in need can call 2-1-1 for help. Hotline workers will direct callers to appropriate resources. Food stamps are available for the low-income and unemployed. Through WIC, or Women, Infants and Children program, women can get access to baby food and other nutrition. Seniors and the disabled can turn to Meals on Wheels or senior centers. There are also hundreds of neighborhood pantries, like St. Andrew. To qualify for most food assistance, people have to show proof of economic need and provide information about the size of their household. Barbara Ewen of the Tarrant Area Food Bank says many pantries are struggling, but there is help.
Ewen: Unemployment doesn't end the minute the recession starts to recover. Down here at this level, people are still going to be in need for a real long time.
If you know someone who is struggling to put food on the table dial 2-1-1 to find help in your community. You can find more on area food banks and pantries, information on the food stamp program and other economy-related issues at kera.org/economy