Salvation Army feels squeeze of need

Sep. 7—SOUTHERN INDIANA — It's not easy to find affordable foods that meet special dietary needs at a time when some Southern Indiana residents are squeezing paychecks to get by.

But luckily for Floyd County resident Nick, New Albany's Salvation Army has the gluten-free items his wife and child need on hand.

"My family and I have been coming here for probably about nine months to a year," said Nick, who the News and Tribune is identifying only by his first name. "It really helps out with supplementing staple foods, mostly like a lot of grains, canned foods, eggs and stuff that can get pricey over time."

Some of the shelves at the Salvation Army were empty Wednesday morning as families picked up food from the pantry.

Although there were meats and dairy, along with some more foods to unload in stock, the Salvation Army is feeling the pinch of people in need as well, said Captain Catherine Fitzgerald.

Clients like Nick are able to come into the Salvation Army once each month and get food to supplement what they have at home.

Fitzgerald said the food pantry is open to everyone and is the "lowest barrier" service the non-profit offers.

"What we do back here is we fill a box for a family of four for two to three days," she said. "It's supposed to be breakfast, lunch and dinner."

Need has picked up over the past few months, and although it's not as high as it was during the pandemic, Fitzgerald said clients need extra help right now.

"So it's like every day we get a little more on the shelves," she said. "Usually those are packed full and we are just filling boxes one week at a time. But now we are filling the shelves, filling the boxes (and doing it all over again.)"

Pantry staple items are what's needed most, but the Salvation Army is open to any and all food donations.

Workers, like Dalton Francis who's helping Nick find gluten-free items for his family, check the dates on each item and make sure the food's in good condition for clients.

Francis has been with the Salvation Army for years, starting out his service in Evansville before moving to New Albany a few weeks back.

He's been helping clients all morning get their food and encouraging them to take items like rice, just in case they need them in the future.

"It's really helpful because a lot of time gluten-free products are more expensive," Nick said.

After people get their box of food from the pantry, they're able to also get things like canned goods, rice and, occasionally, dog food if it's available.

Other Southern Indiana food pantries told the News and Tribune over the summer that there's an increase in need in their facilities as well.

As of early August, the Center for Lay Ministries had served over 6,000 households this year. Executive Director Kara Brown said last month that it's not just the growing number of households that's concerning, but also, "households are getting larger than ever."

Brown said an increase in food and rental costs, along with more people on a fixed income from Social Security and an increase in older people raising grandchildren are reasons why the household size is increasing.

Hope Southern Indiana Executive Director Angela Graf told the News and Tribune last month that the non-profit served more than 13,000 people last year.

All three organizations also help homeless people in the region secure food.

Fitzgerald said the Salvation Army gets creative for people without homes and will arrange to supply smaller amounts of food several times a month for those who don't have a place to store it.

"(Need) is definitely up significantly, just even within this year, it's just been a steady rise, and this time of year not only is it a high demand, but it's the lowest donation time too," Fitzgerald said.