Guest Opinion: Crisis hasn't passed for Bucks families. You can still help
On Friday, March 13, 2020, there was a statewide announcement: Effective Monday, all Pennsylvania schools would close for two weeks.
I remember that day vividly. On the way home from work, I stopped at the grocery store. All freezers and meat cases were empty. There was no bread, no paper products. I sent my husband a photo of completely bare banana stands captioned, “Bananas!” And it was.
I left with a cart full of shelf-stable food. Without fruits and vegetables, it wasn’t my “normal” shop, but our family of four would be fine.
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In those early and uncertain days, the phrase “community spread” entered our lexicon. We were in a state of emergency, but were advised to “stay calm, stay safe and stay home.”
For some, it was impossible to stay calm. The week that schools closed, I spoke to a dad in Quakertown who works as a line cook and a mom in Levittown who is a per diem school cafeteria worker. I connected with a grandmother in Morrisville who works in retail.
They didn’t know how they would feed their families. Unlike my family, this wasn’t about food preferences. It was just about food.
These folks are who we call ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. ALICE lives above the federal poverty line, but barely makes ends meet. ALICE often earns too much to qualify for public benefits, like childcare subsidies or SNAP (formerly called food stamps), but too little to have any real savings or safety net. They can’t afford to miss a single paycheck.
In Bucks County, about 6% of our population lives below the poverty line, but another 24% is ALICE. They are our front-line workers in grocery stores, nursing homes, and child care centers. During COVID, ALICE delivered our orders contact-free so we could stay home and stay safe.
We did a good job of showing our support for a while. There were yard signs and social media posts thanking our front-line workers. We were united in our gratitude and support — and community donations reflected that.
Now, I am asking our community to stand with us in support of ALICE again. ALICE is still in a true state of emergency. The number of walk-in guests seeking emergency food supplies at our HELP Center has spiked. The fastest-growing segment is ALICE. Rising food and gas prices are crippling these households.
Bucks Knocks Out Hunger, now in its 10th year, ensures that all people in Bucks County — especially those who can’t get help elsewhere — can access nutritious food.
Unfortunately, this year is proving to be our most difficult. With just about a week left in our campaign, we are $50,000 short. This is the biggest gap we have ever faced so late in the game.
I know that there are reasons. Most of us are feeling the pinch at the grocery store and at the gas pumps ourselves. Many of us have our sights set on travel again and are busy planning and prepping. Some of us may feel like we did our part during COVID and now the crisis has passed.
Friends, the crisis has not passed for ALICE.
I know that in Bucks County, there are compassionate people who still have the capacity to give. If that is you, I hope to hear from you soon.
Marissa Christie is president and CEO of the United Way of Bucks County. United Way’s Bucks Knocks Out Hunger campaign continues, with a goal of supporting local hunger relief programs that have seen increased demand for help. Individual donations can be made online at www.uwbucks.org/bkohunger or by mailing a check to United Way of Bucks County at 413 Hood Boulevard, Fairless Hills, PA 19030. Please write BKO Hunger in the memo line.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Op-Ed: United Way of Bucks County needs help for families in crisis
